


Troubling Roads

by qwerth



Series: Tsuki's Misadventures in the Devildom [4]
Category: Shall We Date?: Obey Me!
Genre: Aftercare, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety Disorder, Awkward First Times, Dancing, Dealing With Trauma, Drunken Confessions, Drunkenness, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, Friends to Lovers, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sexual Content, Loss of Virginity, Mentions of Death, Mildly Dubious Consent, Multi, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Platonic Relationships, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Singing, Slow Burn, Strangulation, Violence, game spoilers until chapter 18, ghosts/spitits/souls, i swear theres a happy end, just so much platonic love, overuse of music references, several headcanons, tell me if i need to add more explict tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:55:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 132,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25867033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/qwerth/pseuds/qwerth
Summary: Part 2 of Troubling StartsTsuki frees Belphie, but at what costs? Aftermath of the events of lesson 16(aka a more realistic way of progressing with the story than what the game give us)Complete. Epilogue is out as a separate one shot.
Relationships: Lucifer (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Character(s), Lucifer (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader, Lucifer/Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!) & Everyone
Series: Tsuki's Misadventures in the Devildom [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1807312
Comments: 51
Kudos: 132





	1. Killer In the Mirror / King Of The Clouds

**Author's Note:**

> PART 2!!! I actually started writing this fic by this chapter lmao I got so angry at the way the main story is 'developed' during chapters 14-18 that I was like 'I can write a better story' and boy, here I am. Spite is a great motivator y'all. 
> 
> Also! The main storyline of the disappearance of the brothers doesn't exist here (because MC being a giant dummie and telling about Belphie to Lucifer while alone with with on the house PISSES ME OFF!!!!). Imagine the demon brothers and Tsuki were happily playing games in the common room when Belphie appeared free. Then Lord Diavolo and Barbatos appeared to imprison Belphie and start the time loop bullshit that I try to make work better here.
> 
> WARNING: graphic descriptions of strangulation/dead bodies.

**Chapter 1 - Killer In The Mirror / King Of The Clouds**

You always had a gut feeling to not trust Belphegor. It’s a mix of Luke’s warning and your own life experiences. Somehow, in the back of your head, it feels like he has an ulterior motive. You have felt this way before, way back in middle and high school when you found out some of your ‘friends’ just wanted to take advantage of you. You decided it was not happening again, lesson learned. _But_. Making pacts with all those powerful demons has its advantages. After all, Solomon—that shady guy who you can't tell what his deal is—had already suggested making pacts with the demon brothers before you had even met Belphegor, and you thought the guy was right. If the sorcerer is making pacts left and right why shouldn't you? A common human. In the end, the pros outnumber the cons, and you simply go with Bephegor’s plan.

It is when Belphegor starts laughing _maniacally_ that some feeling of anxiety overpowers your body. ‘ _Ah, maybe he’s just too happy! To finally be free after all those months!_ ’ you naively think, trying to stay positive, because you can’t be that wrong, right? After all, you kind of misjudged most of the brothers, and found they aren’t that bad. Maybe Belphie is nice too!

Then you feel his hand on your throat, and within the blink of an eye he is in his demon form.

“You humans really are foolish, idiotic, weak creatures, aren’t you?” Belphegor hisses. Well, now you kind of agree with him, yes. “You’re so stupid that I can’t help but laugh. Don’t blame me for tricking you, blame yourself for falling for it.” Again, you agree. How foolish indeed. You wouldn't trust a human back in the human world, but you really did trust a demon… _Ah_ . That damn witch, she warned you. “ _Looks like you trust the demons a lot, child. But something that’s about to happen will test this trust.”_

And to think you barely managed to calm down Lucifer after he found out about Belphegor not too long ago. “Do you mean you actually **met** Belphegor?!” He was furious, and within reason, now you can see it. You were sure if you could get out of a situation with an angry Lucifer throwing a fit, you could get away from everything. _You thought wrong._

You wish you could scream for help, but the demon is clever, holding you by your throat, each passing second making it more difficult to breathe. All that work learning to summon the demons feels worthless now. If you can’t speak, you can’t summon them. Belphegor completely outsmarts you.

You try to thrash around, but the demon is just too strong. You know it’s possible to summon only the strength of a demon, you did that before, so you try hard to focus on getting either Satan's or Beel’s physical strength. However, all your struggles are in vain. When you can no longer feel the floor under your feet, panic gets the best of you and it’s impossible to concentrate. A feeling of dread covers your skin like sweat. The grip of your hands on Belphie hand gets loosen. Aside from the usual ‘ _I don't want to die_ ’ and ‘ _This hurts,’_ your last thoughts are more like: ‘ _Lucifer was right, I didn't die to him but I'll die to Belphegor. And why? Because of my stupid curiosity! I deserve to die for breaking his rules!_ ’

“If you die, the exchange program will be ruined, and Diavolo’s reputation will be in tatters,” he says, amused. “I hate humans more than anything in the three worlds.” He continues to enjoy your suffering as he taunts you, but you can’t make out his words as clearly anymore as your head gets heavier from the lack of oxygen and the pain in your body increases sharply. Wetness spreads on your clothes. Blood, probably. The last thing you can distinguish is his laugh, louder than before as the world goes black as the last of your oxygen escapes you. Ironically, your last thoughts are of the demon brothers, all smiling at you.

‘ _Guys… Sorry…_ ’

You are _certain_ that you died when you hear Lilith’s spirit. The realization you’re her descendant doesn’t shock you; if anything, it only makes a lot of things clearer. Your odd ‘powers,’ the way you could open Belphegor’s prison...it all makes sense now.

“ _Tsuki… I’m so sorry… Please take the last of my powers to unlock yours… And keep on living…”_

It is strange. You can hear Lilith’s voice and feel her, but the only thing you can see is darkness. Then you are filled with Lilith’s power or something, you really can’t tell, and everything turns white.

When you’re awake again, you find yourself under the stairs to the attic. First thing you do is touch your neck, then the rest of your body; you are perfectly fine. No injuries or anything. You also don’t feel any pain. Remembering Lilith’s spirit (or ghost) is so weird. You could only hear a few words of her voice, but you got some more of her memories. Though she was reborn as a human, she remembered all about her past life when she died. Either Diavolo committed a mistake or she was too strong and retained some of her powers. And her spirit, soul or whatever never went to the Celestial Realm either; she kept on watching over her descendants and her brothers, in both the Human Realm and the Devildom. Unfortunately, you are pretty sure she is no longer here anymore. Her powers—whatever they are—were the only thing keeping her around, and she sent them to you, so you wouldn’t die. It makes you sad. But maybe she deserves to rest, at least.

In the distance, you can hear voices, screams, then an argument. It snaps you out of your thoughts. You decide to investigate, still so confused. How are you even _alive_? Didn’t you just die? Was the ghost of Lilith really that powerful?

As you are about to reach the hallway, you can tell the brothers’ voices apart.

“Belphie, what have you done?” you hear Beel say, voice trembling.

“Lucifer, can’t you do anything?” Asmo whines, to which Lucifer only growls in displeasure.

“That’s the look I wanted to see on your face, Lucifer,” a voice you recognize as Belphegor’s laughs. 

What’s the look on his face? You want to see it too. Why does he have a look on his face? You walk faster.

“...Don't die on me!” Mammon screams from the ground. In that exact moment, you can see the one in his arms is… _you_?!

You freeze in place as all the demon brothers gasp and Asmo and Levi let out screams of confusion as they see another you. ‘ _Honestly, I’m the one that should be screaming,_ ’ you think, but you feel like there’s a frog in your throat, preventing any sound from leaving you. You fall into a wall, almost falling flat on the ground. Your neck was torn open, a bloody mess over your clothes. All your blood must have left you. There are some bruises over your body. The scene causes your stomach to flip as the nausea sets in. You don’t even remember the way Belphie ‘killed’ you aside from the fact he grabbed your neck, and now you really don’t want to remember. The best guess is that he threw you down the stairs or something like that... The sweat on your skin makes you realize just how easy it would be for any of the demons to kill you, and how you miraculously survived that long in the first place. You did almost die a few times, true.

After seconds that feel more like hours, you manage to take your eyes off your own deceased body and look at the brothers. They are all shocked to the core, and Belphegor’s face has turned as white as a piece of paper. Mammon has tears gathered around his eyes and his mouth is wide open. Even in the middle of all this chaos, you wonder if the avatar of greed would deny the tears later.

“What…” you hear someone say as your other body vanishes without a trace, causing you to jump, back hitting into the wall that supports your weight. Mammon barely notices the dead weight leaving his hands while he stares at you without blinking. A new murmur starts between the brothers as you are left wondering how the body just disappeared. _‘Am I dreaming? I must be trapped in a nightmare!’_

“So,” Levi slowly starts, “this ‘Tsuki’ that Mammon was holding was a fake, and this one is the real Tsuki? Is that it?” His voice is laced with disbelief, as if not even he believes his own words.

“No...that’s not right,” Satan responds carefully.

“Both are the real one,” Lucifer states with a confidence that confuses even you. ‘ _How the Hell does he know that?’_

Mammon is left at a loss of words, barely understanding what’s happening.

“ _What the Hell,_ ” Belphegor interjects, “How is this human still alive?” Slowly, he overcomes his shock and walks to you. “There must be a limit to your will to live; now, **time to die**!”

“Belphegor!” You hear someone scream, probably Satan or Beel, you can’t distinguish because Lucifer goes straight to his demon form and catches one of Belphegor's arms, stopping him. Uh oh, things are already spiralizing out of control.

“WAIT! Lilith was alive!” you scream so loudly your throat hurts. The fight or flight instinct finally hit ‘fight.’ Belphegor hesitates for a few seconds, stopping his attempts to escape Lucifer’s grip, and as he is about to say something, you push yourself to continue. “She didn’t die in the war…! She survived and lived as a human. She lived happily!”

This takes Belphegor by surprise. You can hear Lucifer mutter, “How did you know this?” Without losing any time and recognizing you already destroyed the whole timeline by now, you decide to tell the brothers everything Lucifer told you in the other reality.

As the brothers slowly come to terms with the truth, Belphegor begins muttering, “Lies, lies, lies,” under his breath. Within a moment, Lucifer assures him this is the truth. He reverts back to his human form and lets go of Belphegor only to confront you about how you know all of it. For a minute you are at a loss for words. Shaking your head, you decide to go with the truth: it was him. Unfortunately, the avatar of pride doesn't believe that (not that you can blame him). But, after a moment, something seems to illuminate in his head because he makes an understanding expression. He’s about to say something when Diavolo and Barbatos appear out of nowhere.

Diavolo confirms your story, showing he knew what was going on in the hall. He tells the brothers he had checked on your ancestry, and declares you a distant descendant of Lilith. Again, it takes the demons a few moments to process the information, and, the next thing you know, you are being attacked—wait no—hugged, by all of them one after the other.

“Guys, please don’t go throwing yourself at them at the same time. Give them some space to breathe,” says Barbados, a bit of concern in his voice.

Diavolo laughs before turning to give his attention to the younger brother.

“Uh? Don’t you want to hug Tsuki too, Belphegor?”

Belphegor clicks his tongue and looks away. You see Diavolo proceed to go talk to Belphegor, and silently pray the demon prince can put some reason into his head and maybe convince him to not try to kill you anymore. But it’s hard to keep trying to see them from your position on the ground, while a pile of demons is laughing and crying over your poor human body. You close your eyes, feeling exhausted.

The fancy dinner is a bit _too_ lively for your taste, considering everything that just happened. Belphegor was eventually convinced by Diavolo’s and his brothers’ words of the truth you told them, and he is way calmer now. He even cried a bit upon accepting reality and apologized to you, to which, being honest, you really don't know how to feel... Every time you look at him the images of your cold dead body rapidly flood your mind. You push the memories aside as you try to focus on the conversation (or rather, argument) at the table. Apparently, the brothers are now fighting to see who feeds you, _as if you need to be spoon-fed_ . You don’t even feel hungry, all the anxiety and adrenaline did a toll to your body and mental state. You ignore it since they are having a good time and no one is actually bothering you. You feel kind of safe sitting between Mammon and Satan. You’d waited to see where Satan would sit first and jumped to the seat right next to him, believing an angry Satan in his demon form is your best shot— aside from Lucifer— against Belphegor. Mammon was just being infuriatingly insistent about sitting next to you, and, _maybe_ , you can throw the idiot into Belphie if he doesn’t shield you and use him as bait while you run to hide behind Lucifer or Satan. He did trip once, when you called for his help against an angry Leviathan. You would be dead or seriously injured if Lucifer hadn’t rushed to save you, and that’s unforgettable.

“All of you, that’s enough. You’re making Tsuki feel uncomfortable,” Lucifer says to his brothers. You sigh in relief, murmuring a low “Thank you, Lucifer,” while offering him a small smile.

You feel someone’s gaze, and turn your head to scan your surroundings, seeing Barbatos studying you. 

“Anything you want to say, Tsuki?” he offers.

Well, yes. Several things, to be honest. You almost stand up and go straight to him, almost. Your brain tries to choose one thing to focus on because, honestly, too much happened in too little time.

“I really don’t get what just happened... Do you think I rewrote the timeline?”

“Oh, you mean the other Tsuki’s disappearance?”

You nod. Barbatos then proceeds to explain how his power is capable of seeing into the past and the future and selecting realities. He explains that he manipulated all the possible outcomes to have this one. He maintains this version of you that is present and alive right now is the right one, and he deleted all the subsequent timelines so you don’t have to ‘go back to the other timeline’ as it no longer exists.

So, he manipulated everything from the start? That doesn’t sit well with you. It did feel weird, how he said not to meet with anyone from the other timeline then sent you straight to Mammon’s room, which was full of people. You don’t remember seeing any door to return, which can only mean it was a lie. There are even more questions: did the old you die and you fused with another version of yourself? So, you are not exactly the same you? What even were the powers of Lilith? You could feel whatever was left from her soul doing something to you. It _was_ her that kept you alive but how did she do it?

Honestly, you don’t really get it. The more you think about it, the less you understand. Satan and Levi comment on how this ability of his is very powerful, and you agree with them, while others, namely Mammon and Beel, agree to ignore complicated details. And, oh, look, they are back to arguing about who should pour you more tea.

“Don't worry too much about it,” says Barbatos, offering you an easy smile. You only sigh in defeat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus info: I couldn’t decide which chapter title to go with but then I remember this is my fic and I can do what I want so, double title chapter! Killer In The Mirror by Set It Off (Belphie) and King Of The Clouds by Panic! At the Disco (Tsuki).  
> The number of chapters is subjected to change.


	2. Yesterday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yesterday by Imagine Dragons  
> “All these years I've been searching/ For who I'm supposed to be/ All this time I've been wasting/ 'Cause I was right in front of me (…) But in this all this trouble I've met/ I haven't got one single regret, no.”
> 
> I have a vague idea of where this is ending, may add even more chapters here. idk writing is hard.

**Chapter 2 – Yesterday**

_ ‘So tired. _ ’ After barely sleeping at night, you see yourself sitting at the dining room table. Still can’t stop thinking about yesterday. Some things just don’t make sense. Did Lilith open the door or was it you? Both? Did you get possessed by the ghost? That would actually explain how you came back to living after speaking to her. Barbatos said there’s no other timeline to return to, so you are stuck here. It seems just like the usual, but why does it feel so surreal? As surreal as the first time you were sent here.

“Your appetite has come back.” You wake up from your daydreaming and turn to face Beel, who is sitting right in front of you with a gentle smile and his twenty or so breakfast plates now empty. “You didn’t eat a lot last night.”

“I had a lot in my mind,” you try to brush it off. “But I’m fine now!” You smile, ignoring everything that’s dancing inside your head.

Beel seems to believe you just fine and keeps smiling while eating.

While the other brothers start to take their empty plates to the sink, Levi finally reaches the dining room, yawning. Mammon calls his attention for being so late. Everyone else is already done and ready to leave. 

“Have you been gaming all night long again, Levi?” Asmo asks with a frown.

“I was gaming last night too,” you admit. Even though you were tired both physically and mentally, you couldn't relax enough to fall asleep, so you decided to play some mobile game on your D.D.D., one that Levi convinced (read forced) you into playing too, until you couldn’t keep your eyes open anymore.

“Oh, I know, that sniper that was constantly hounding me on DDO was  _ you _ , wasn't it?” Levi says in an irritated tone.

You laugh and shrug, making Levi even more irritated. Not your fault his gaming was terrible yesterday and you just happened to know his username in DDO to hunt him down.

“Stop it, you two,” Satan interjects, “Levi, your grades will drop if you keep staying up all night gaming and waking up late in the morning. Hurry up so we can leave for the academy.”

“Uh? But my plate is empty? I just got here,” Levi says while he watches the plate that should be his. It really is empty.

“Maybe you already ate it,” you suggest, playfully.

“Ah, so you think after the time loop, I now lose my memory?” Levi says in a playful tone to you before turning his head and yelling. “BEEL, stop eating my food! You think I don’t see you doing it?!”

Beel turns to Levi while looking innocent, finishing his munching before replying.

“But now I already ate it.”

“I don’t care, vomit it out! I want to eat!”

After laughing at that absurdity, you tug Levi by his coat, deciding you don’t need to make the situation any worse.

“You can have my leftovers, Levi.” You push your plate with some eggs and toast in his direction. Levi's expression softens and he looks at you like he had just seen an angel.

“Aww, I’m glad  _ SOMEONE  _ here cares about me!”

As Levi is about to start digging in, Belphegor reaches the dining room, yawning as if he had just woken up. It is nice to see he can put his uniform in a decent way, even being so late, unlike some other demons—you glance at Mammon and Levi and observe the mess that they call ‘uniform.’ Why even attempt to use a tie if it’s loose and wrong?

“Uh, good morning, Belphie,” greets Levi. Not long after, all the brothers greet the youngest.

“You can eat whatever is left. We are done, though,so there's not a lot of food left. Beel eats a lot,” says Satan.

Belphie nods.

“No problem,” he says, sitting down at the table. You watch him carefully while hearing some agitation behind you. The noise of a chair scratches against the delicate floor: someone had just stood up abruptly. 

“Well, then, I’ll be going now!” Mammon says, and suddenly you can hear him a lot closer? Then you feel someone pulling you by the forearm. You face your left side to see Mammon standing beside you.

“Let’s go,” he says while pulling you again, a forced smile printed on his face. Even though subtly is not his forte, this time you are glad for his actions. Anyone could feel the change in the room’s atmosphere as soon as Belphie appeared. Despite all the ‘good morning’s’, everyone looks somewhat tense and unsure of what to say, and you hate this whole atmosphere as much as you would hate being too close to Belphie now. You stand up, following Mammon’s initiative.

“Well, I’ll be going too,” Levi says, standing up as well.

“Eh? But you barely ate your breakfast, Levi...” Asmo notices.

“I’ll just grab something in the cafeteria.”

One by one, the brothers stand up and offer excuses to leave soon, even Beel.

Now inside RAD, you are almost at the door to your classroom when Mammon grabs you by the coat collar and pulls you close to him. He wraps an arm around you and you mentally give him thirty seconds to defend himself before you punch him. He whispers, “Hey, come have lunch with me today. It’s not like I want to have your company or anything! I just wouldn’t feel comfortable if you happen to cross paths with Belphie while out of your classroom, ok?”

“Hmm? Why?” You know  _ exactly  _ why, but you just need to hear Mammon’s response.

“Why? Why you ask? Aren’t you afraid of him? After what he did to you? I mean—to the other you,” he stumbles on his own words, now looking flustered.

“Aw, someone’s worried for my sake!”

Mammon curses, loudly, and he lets go of you.

“Anyway! Just come looking for me at the cafeteria, ok?! You better,” he warns, making you laugh. He should ask Lucifer to teach him how to properly warn people.

Mammon actually runs away right after. You face forward and go inside the classroom.

Just like in the first few weeks in the Devildom, you wish at least one of the brothers were in the same classroom as you. Or that Mammon weren’t such an irresponsible little shit and would actually protect you properly while in RAD. Where, you know, there are lots and lots of demons and the chances of being attacked are high. Aside from one incident in your first week, no one is bothering you anymore so you can just attend the academy as a normal student. You have been in the Devildom for almost six months now and the crippling anxiety from the first weeks is all back. The rational part of your brain tells you Belphie won’t do anything to you in the academy. ‘ _ But wait, didn’t he want to destroy Diavolo’s exchange program? Oh no, the anxiety is at full force now.’ _ You shake your head and try to listen to what the professor is saying.

Anxiety has always been a recurring problem in your life. It’s always there, in one way or another. When you didn’t have a single close friend in your childhood to when you did have friends but always wondered if they ever liked you as much as you liked them. In college…and, when you finally can sort out your life and prepare to live alone and have a job, you wake up in literal Hell, having in your nights and days the ever-present fear of being swallowed whole by demons. The palms of your hands are wet and your stomach hurts. In the end, you can’t pay attention to most of the morning classes, if not all of them.

“Are you feeling well?” The calming voice of Simeon wakes you from your daydream. You just notice it’s lunch break and you haven’t moved from your seat. You scan Simeon. He has his trademark smile, but his eyes show concern. Luke is peaking at you from behind him and you can see Solomon approaching from further back.

“You look troubled. Did anything happen in the House of Lamentation?” Solomon asks, always so perceptive.

You sigh, Mammon is probably waiting for you, but. Afraid of drowning in your own insecurities, you decided to vent and tell the three of them about everything that happened yesterday. It’s not like they wouldn't know, as Belphie is back at RAD and the only reason they don’t know yet is because he was late today.

“I see now, anyone would be hesitant to stay close to Belphegor after this,” concludes Simeon after hearing the whole story. 

“That’s why you should never trust a demon, Tsuki!” Luke scolds you, “I hope you have learned the lesson this time! Or do you plan to almost die by the hand of a demon again?”

“No, Luke, I don’t want to die again,” you whimper, face buried in your hands.

“Ah, you made them cry, Luke. Apologize to Tsuki,” Solomon says, a hint of worry in his voice.

“What. No! I didn't want to make them cry! Sorry Tsuki!” hurries Luke. He puts a hand on your shoulders, trying to comfort you.

“It’s ok, I’m not crying, Luke, Solomon, I’m just tired, don’t worry.” You face them again. You are sure you must have bags under your eyes by now but they are not puffy with tears. Your cheeks, however, are hot with embarrassment. “I’m just. Urg.” You pause, not even knowing how to begin to express your anxiety and sorrows but dying to ask for help. “Simeon, do you have any advice on how I should handle this situation?”

They all look at you with surprised expressions. They know how you hate asking for help, the main reason you let those two demons pester and bully you for a week, stubbornly refusing help. And they only ever stopped because Lucifer caught them attacking you and scared them for a lifetime. Also, irresponsible Mammon, if he were doing his job, nothing like that would have happened.

Simeon thinks for a few seconds, putting his hand under his chin. Luke and Solomon eye him, like they know he is going to say something very wise.

“I’m not sure if I am in a position to tell you what to do. Tsuki, do you want to make up with Belphegor?”

“I guess I  _ do  _ want to, but I just can’t bring myself to act normal with him like I act around the other boys just yet,” you tell him the truth.

“Well, in this case you shouldn’t force yourself. Take your time.”

That is obvious isn't it. But, for some reason, listening to him is oddly comforting. Still, you feel like the situation may be a lot more troublesome. 

“I just...I wouldn’t like it if the brothers treat Belphie badly because of me.” ‘ _ Why I am such a good person that hates unfairness,’  _ you lament inside your head. “Today in the dining room…”

“Stop it,” Simeon says abruptly. “Belphegor should be able to face the consequences of his actions as well, so don’t beat yourself over it.” Simeon crosses his arms over his chest with a serious expression. Your eyes widen, seeing Simeon’s rare serious semblance. “You didn’t do anything wrong and his brothers should know how to deal with him better than you, right?” You let it sink in. Simeon is so, so right. You’re glad you decided to tell him about this situation, you can always count on his advice. “But, if you ever feel like his brothers are being unfair, you can just talk to them.” And he winks.

“Ah. Of course. Thank you, Simeon, I mean it. Really.”

“I know,” he says, smiling brightly. “If you ever need to vent again you can count on us. We’re friends.”

You smile at them, and now you do almost cry. Ah, shoot, you completely forgot about Mammon. You quickly stand up and let the three of them know you had “agreed” to have lunch with Mammon. ‘ _ There should still be some time left…’ _ You excuse yourself and leave the classroom in a hurry.

You cross the academy fast, reaching the cafeteria in record time. You look around. There are still many students even though lunch break is almost over. Unable to find Mammon or another one of his brothers, you think of getting your D.D.D. to call or check any messages. You turn on your heels as soon as you hear someone call your name. ‘ _ Oh shit, it’s Belphie.’ _ If you had taken a little longer to allow yourself to recognize the voice you could have tried to ignore him, but now you have already exchanged looks.

“Hey Tsuki,” he calls, waving a hand to get your attention. “Why haven’t you replied to my texts?”

“‘Texts,’” you repeat, confused. Then you pull out the D.D.D. from your pocket because  _ ‘yes, brain, let’s take our eyes off Belphie, what a great idea.’  _ Slightly trembling now, you scroll down a couple of Belphie’s texts. How did he even know your number? Ah, Beel, most likely. Most of the texts are pretty normal, attempts at small talk that would make half the other brothers’ envious; apparently someone besides Satan and Lucifer knows what subtlety means. The last one is a bit more direct, asking if you want to have lunch with him. You face Belphie again, at a bit of a loss for words.

“Sorry, I haven’t checked my phone today,” you say, simply. It is the truth after all.

“I see.” For some reason he looks a little taken aback? Off? You don’t know, you’re too nervous to be trying to figure him out. “If you haven’t had lunch yet there must still be some sandwiches…”

“I’m sorry but I still haven’t forgiven you,” you deadpan, already knowing where he is going and you are not getting any of his bullshit. “And I really don’t want to be around you right now,” you conclude, dead serious. While you may see calm on the outside, your heart is beating like crazy with anticipation, and an escape plan is already forming in your head.

Now Belphegor is definitely taken aback, He watches you with wide eyes for a few seconds before dropping his eyes and scratching his head awkwardly. You wish you weren't ‘ _ such a nice person’ _ and wouldn’t feel bad when you make others a tad uncomfortable by telling them your opinion or how you really feel about them. But you must be strong, you really don’t need to make your life any harder.

“It’s understandable, really. I don’t blame you.” When Belphie talks again he is not facing you anymore, but then, he briefly looks into your eyes as he speaks next. “But I want you to know I am really sorry about what I did to you and I’m going to work on the ‘not hating humans anymore’ thing and making it up to you.” He turns around, “I’ll leave you alone now.”

Not even a second passes and a loud “WHATCHA TALKING ABOUT?” explodes next to Belphie. Mammon appears in your vision, throwing himself into Belphie’s personal space and almost knocking him off the ground. In fact, you don’t know how he didn’t fall, Mammon is smiling brightly while almost on top of his youngest sibling. Immediately after this scene, Asmo throws his arm around you. If you hadn't been so distracted you would have punched him in the face.

“Tsuki~!” Asmo screams in your left ear, “We have been waiting for you for lunch  _ forever!  _ And when we decided to go after you, you weren't in your classroom anymore! Luckily, we bumped into the angels and Solomon and we ran back here.” Turning to face him while trying to push him off you, you see he is pouting now. ‘ _ Honestly _ .’

“Nothing,” Belphie says calmly, taking Mammon’s arms off him with ease, “And I was already leaving. See you later, guys.” With this, he turns around and leaves without another word. Mammon and Asmo only watch him go in silence.

“What was that about?” asks Mammon, now looking at you.

“Nothing,” you say as you struggle to get Asmo off you. “I just told him I would rather be alone and he got the hint.”

Asmo gasps.

“Wow, you actually told him off? You have guts, Tsuki,” he says, amazed. You nod.

“Anyway, I’m starving, let’s see if I can still get some rotten witch sandwiches.”

Asmo and Mammon follow you closely while you hope you can force some food into your anxious stomach.

The bell rings announcing the end of the classes. You sigh. Your day has been so long already and there are still more hours? Unacceptable. All you want to do is go home and sleep for a week. Thankfully you aren’t on cooking duty today.

Solomon and the angels ask if you want company going home, but you tell them to not worry about it as Levi should be waiting for you outside. You wave them goodbye and leave the classroom. As you leave into the hallway, you notice Levi waiting for you just ahead and, is that Mammon  _ and  _ Asmo with him? The only one you had texted back was Levi, who asked if you wanted to play games after class. You are almost regretting telling him yes, but, looking at the bright side, maybe a distraction will be good for you.

The last time three demons were waiting for you after your classes ended was when that bully broke your arm. That time, Lucifer had demanded that  _ all  _ his brothers escort you every day at RAD and threatened that if there weren’t at least two by your side at all times, he would personally break a few of their bones, if not choosing a punishment even worse. That had lasted for about a month and only because you begged Lucifer to let you have some moments of privacy in the academy otherwise you would go crazy. 

The brothers make some small talk on the way home about a lot of random stuff. Seems like they can pick up that you’re feeling down and want to distract you. It's sweet, but at the same time you have a horrible gut feeling they may only be like that because now they know you’re the descendant of their long dead sister. And  _ that _ upsets you even more than anything.

You are not Lilith.

Later that night, when you arrive for dinner with Levi, you see all the brothers are in the dining room except Belphie. Beel is serving the food and trying to convince Mammon to go wake Belphie for dinner. This is a great and maybe only opportunity you may have.

“Hey,” you call their attention and all the demons stare at you. Uh, and now you’re feeling really nervous. Swallowing hard, you push forward. It’s now or never. “I am not Lilith,” you announce.

“We know that?” Levi tilts his head, confused.

Ok that was…not the reaction you were expecting. Asmo lets out a nervous laugh that catches your attention, making you turn to him.

“Is this why you look so serious?” Asmo offers you a small smile. “Of course, we know! Were you worried because we are treating you nice today? We kind of saw your dead body on the floor yesterday…” His eyes wander somewhere, while his expression turns sorrowful. 

Oh.

You feel lost for a second here. You’d been too fixed on worrying about being seen as Lilith that it slipped your mind: they saw your dead body too.

“From your relieved expression, I guess you  _ were _ thinking about it.” Satan approaches you. He has a serious expression at first but manages to force himself to smile when he gets closer. “Maybe we did get a bit  _ too _ happy when we find out about our sister and how you have a connection to her… But we do not see you as her. You’re your own person and we already like you just the way you are.” Satan’s words almost make you cry. “And you  _ did _ get us worried for a minute yesterday, I was just about to end Belphie’s life for what he had done to you.”

You would have liked to see that. You still hadn’t managed to see Satan’s true anger yet. You feel like hugging him. All of them, actually. They do care about you. Satan snorts in shock when you  _ do _ hug him. He chuckles before hugging you back and you can hear Mammon say something along the lines of ‘That’s not fair!’

“Besides, you should not worry since you are  _ nothing _ like Lilith. There is no way any of us could mistake you for her,” Lucifer speaks suddenly. He was being awfully quiet.

You feel forced to let go of Satan to stare at the eldest demon.

“Wow, that makes me _so_ _happy_ , Lucifer, you have no idea!” Your voice is loud through gritted teeth.

“Why are you angry? Isn’t that what you wanted to hear?” The fact that he is legit confused upsets you more since you know now that wasn’t a joke.

Beel comes behind you and strokes your hair. He has a sweet smile, but it quickly disappears from his face as he turns somber.

“What about Belphie?”

“Tsuki said they don’t want to be near Belphie now,” Mammon answers before you have time to open your mouth. “Makes sense, if you ask me. If someone had strangulated me yesterday and today suddenly wanted to be buddies, I wouldn’t like that either!”

“Belphie’s kind of strange,” Levi agrees.

Beel is forced to agree with Mammon too. Now you are kind of glad Mammon spoke for you, as you are feeling so drained already. You didn’t sleep well, if at all, last night.

“Belphie does tend to jump from a thing to another pretty fast,” Asmo comments.

“Anyway! Leave Belphie to us to handle,” Mammon smiles at you. He uses the excuse that you had already let the others touch you to pass an arm around your neck and bring you next to him. You let him do as he likes while staring at his happy face. “We won’t let him do anything else to you ever again. The Great Mammon won’t allow anyone else to hurt his precious human.”

“I’m not yours,” you deadpan, but Mammon only laughs, as if it’s a joke.

“That’s right.” The avatar of envy glues himself to your other side, successfully getting you sandwiched between him and Mammon. “Tsuki doesn’t belong to you. Never mind the scum, Tsuki! Leviathan is the one who will protect you from now on.”

Mammon growls at Levi but you ignore him.

“That’s very reassuring, Levi. Thank you.”

“What? What about me?” Mammon questions.

“I guess I shouldn’t reject any type of help.”

“Why do you always have so little faith in me?”

“Who knows. A mystery.”

‘Mystery’ gets Satan’s attention and he gets closer too. It doesn’t take long till you have all brothers all over you again and Lucifer has to interfere, dragging you away from them so you can have some space for breath. The eldest brother tells everyone to go sit for dinner while he gets his D.D.D. to bother Belphie until he wakes up and comes to the dining room too. You don’t comment on how Lucifer lets his hand linger a bit too long on yours. A small blush finds its way to your cheeks while you stare at his hold on your hand. When he remembers to let go, you almost whine at the loss. Still, that is a very reassuring evening. A weight is lifted from your shoulders.

** ‘ _ I am not Lilith. Thanks Lilith. _ ’  **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I HATE MISCOMMUNICATION, WOOOO


	3. I Don’t Know Why

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I Don’t Know Why by Imagine Dragon is just this whole fic mood LOL Doesn’t matter in which chapter you are, I Don’t Know Why fits, in fact, I regret *not* naming this fic after this song now.
> 
> Please read end notes.

**Chapter 3 – I Don’t Know Why**

The bed feels more comfortable today. After eating dinner, you go up to your room, shower, and lay in bed. So, so tired. Your body feels exhausted like you had just run a marathon and won. You can’t wait to just sleep and rest for once! You deserve a good night of rest. 

Now that you cleaned up the whole Lilith fear with the brothers, you're starting to get more and more suspicious of the Prince of Devildom and his overpowered butler. Only now, reflecting on the behavior they showed yesterday. But you're feeling too tired for this. Better not overthink now and just rest for the night.  _ 'Just close your eyes and stop thinking about the demons.' _

_ Knock knock _

Oh, for Hell’s sake.

Standing in one angry movement, you march to the door and open it with more force than necessary, ready to send whoever is behind it away. You scoff loudly seeing Mammon on your doorstep.

“Hey Tsuki! Wanna sleep together?” says Mammon with a bright smile. You then notice the pillow under his right arm.

“ _ Excuse me? _ ”

“You still look a bit gloomy and all, so The Great Mammon decided to offer you company for the night.”

You glare at him from head to toe. What you're feeling can only be called disdain.

“No thanks,” you say, ready to close the door on his face. If Mammon was at least being honest you could give him a chance, but while he tries to (poorly) hide his crush by treating you as inferior and using laughable excuses to spend more time with you, you can’t just let him have his way! Otherwise he may even think you like him back. You do like him in the normal sense, though, you just can’t stand the way he acts sometimes. His jealousy is also ridiculous, which makes you want to tease him even more. Right now, you don’t want to deal with him.

“Wait!” he cries as you try to close the door.

“If you want to sleep here the  _ minimum  _ you have to do is be honest, Mammon!” you hiss back at him, forcing him to leave while pushing the door.

Mammon whines for a moment.

“Alright! You want to hear it?” You stop, curious, looking at him with a serious expression. “Ok, ok,” he looks away, “I’m feeling a bit angsty after what happened yesterday… There, I said it! Can I please spend the night with you? I swear I won’t bother you!” he begs.

You scan his face, surprised at him admitting the truth for once, especially given how easy it was. Ok, maybe you’ll allow him to have his way just this once then.

“You can stay, but you’ll sleep on the floor.”

“What?! On the floor?”

“It’s the floor or nothing, Mammon!” you say a little higher, losing the last bit of your patience. You take a deep breath once you see him hesitate. “I  _ suppose  _ the tree is also an option.”

Mammon looks away, thinks for a while, then returns to you with a determined face.

“Fine, I’ll take the floor,  _ princess. _ ”

You roll your eyes.

“You know I hate being called that, irritate me once more and I’ll throw you out,” you warn.

Mammon nods in silence while you go to your wardrobe and collect a blanket. When you see Mammon again, he is already lying on the floor…right next to your bed. What did you even expect? You count to ten, throw the blanket at him and drop heavily on your bed.

“Don’t try anything.” You feel like you should say it as ominously as you can.

“Who do you think I am?!” He sounds insulted. “I won’t do anything.”

Alright then. Alright. You take another deep breath. Why couldn’t it be Lucifer or Satan or Levi?

“Goodnight Mammon.” You  _ really  _ just want the day to end.

“Goodnight,” Mammon replies, as you close your eyes and try to relax.

After a long, dreamless slumber, you start to awaken. Opening an eye, you see it's still quite dark, maybe still early. You close your eyes again and snuggle more into the soft mattress. As you do, you hit something a bit flatter. Someone? ‘ _ Lucifer?! _ ’ This time you open both eyes excitedly and stare ahead. Then you notice the one lying right next to you in bed  _ doesn’t  _ have dark black hair. With a scream you push whoever it is forward. As he falls on the ground, he also screams. Wait, you recognize this high-pitched voice. You peek from the top of the bed, bringing your blankets to cover your body as if they could protect you, and see Mammon touching his head and cursing under his breath. Oh. It was just the idiot.  _ Wait a minute _ .

Before you could interrogate the avatar of greed, your door opens violently, startling both you and Mammon.

“I heard a scream! What is happening?” Satan enters the room in a hurry. For the first time, you see him with his uniform’s coat unbuttoned and without his bowtie. He’s also without one of his shoes. Looks like he was just getting ready for the day when he heard your loud scream and came running to check on you. He’s so sweet; you are so glad you can count on Satan at all times. In the back of your mind you try to remember if he is the one on cooking duty today, but your head is still too foggy with sleep.

“Mammon was sleeping in my bed!” You point at him.

Satan looks as taken aback as Mammon, but he quickly marches in his brother's direction, his face starting to show his angry persona.

“OH? So, you decided to assault Tsuki in their sleep?! Mammon, you really are the filthiest scum in the world!” Satan spat in his direction.

Ok, maybe it wasn’t that extreme.

“Ah, Satan you’re a bit wrong,” you explain in a lower, calmer, manner. Satan stops in his tracks and turns to you, confused, while Mammon smiles. Unfortunately he has no reason to smile. “I actually let Mammon sleep here, but with the condition to be on the floor. I was so surprised to see him in my bed that I screamed like that, sorry to have made you so concerned over something so small.”

“See, no biggie deal,” laughs Mammon.

“But. You did something you shouldn’t,” Satan grabs his older brother by his shirt. “Tsuki didn’t give you consent to move to their bed!”

“You are so right, Satan,” you agree. “But don't worry, I’ll punish him according to his transgression.” You show them an evil smile while feeling like you are acting just like Lucifer. You wonder if the avatar of pride would be proud of you. Both demons are looking at you, awaiting your next words. “From now, on Mammon is forbidden to enter my room.”

“WHAT?!”

“That’s right, remember what I told you last night, Mammon? It was either the floor or  _ nothing. _ ” You watch him struggle and stutter while being held by Satan, who cracks a big grin and laughs lightly. “Satan, if you ever see him trying to get into my room again you can tell Lucifer,” you wink at him.

“NO, DON’T TELL LUCIFER.”

“I WILL tell Lucifer.” Satan winks back at you, still with that big smile of his. “Now is the time to take the trash out, Tsuki needs to get ready for the day. Same to you, Mammon.” Mammon is basically dragged outside of your room, telling you apologies and whining. Satan closes the door, a lot kinder this time, wishing you a happy morning.

The day has barely started and it is already out of the ordinary. Just your luck.

The day goes by fast. You are more focused in the classes today and don’t have any mental breakdowns unlike the day before, but hey, it’s still early, anything can happen. You still ignore Belphie and he avoids you, but he sends you texts once in a while. You agree to reply to them since they aren’t bad. This is the common effort you two can have while you sort out how you feel about him and he promises to be better.

Next Monday will be the last week of activities in RAD before a small two-week break. All that is left to do before the weekend is deliver some final assignments and some homework, and the next week should be a lot calmer since it’s basically for those who aren’t passing the semester. At the end, everyone will receive the grades of the last exams and the overall grades of the semester. If you do as well as you imagine you did, you’ll have a full two weeks’ vacation, as the only ones who will need to keep attending RAD are the students who need extra credit to pass. Mammon is probably going, since he has awful grades, and Belphie too, since he basically lost the entire semester. You don’t know what crazy stuff Lucifer is pulling into Belphie’s lap to compensate for his absence, but it may as well be his punishment for almost killing you for good.

At the end of the classes, you see a glimpse of Diavolo and Barbatos walking in a corridor. Turning on your heels, you go in the opposite direction. Honestly, it is a miracle Diavolo hasn't asked to see you between classes yet. But it's lucky anyway, since you don’t want to. There’s no way Barbados didn’t know what was going to happen when he sent you through that door. They willingly let Belphie kill you, counting on your survival, probably thanks to the ghost of Lilith. You don’t feel like getting involved with them anymore. Better avoid both, otherwise your tongue may slip and you’ll end up saying a lot of things you always wanted to tell Diavolo but never did because he’s the fucking Prince of Devildom. Also, his butler is scary as fuck; Barbatos looks like the type who would slit open someone’s throat while smiling. The image sends a shiver down your spine.

You end up walking down the hall of the RAD newspaper club (and some other clubs as well). It’s close to the RAD gardens. You see Mephisto in the garden—he’s with his glasses today, same as you. You found out accidentally that he needs glasses, but avoids using them in RAD since it’s quite rare for demons to have ‘defections’ and he gets bullied for it. Honestly, demons are just awful, they bully each other over anything, and although Mephisto is quite the prankster, he is also ridiculously inoffensive.

“Why don’t you just use your powers or whatever to make them stop?” you had asked once, when he stopped you at the hall after lunch to gossip about something you do not care about.

“Eh, I’d rather avoid unnecessary fights, I’m quite the pacifist, really,” he said in a shy way, then fixed his big blue round glasses. “Not every demon is a ruthless human eating death machine. I would just like to help with the newspaper club and make my art in peace, but there are some demons in RAD that don’t agree with how demons like me decide to live.” He then looked away to the gardens, melancholically.

“Man, that sucks.”

“It does, I talked about it with Lord Diavolo once and he said ‘acceptance of all demons by all’ is also a goal of RAD. It’s quite commendable how he strikes towards it, but some demons will just never change their way.”

“That’s true,” you feel forced to agree. It feels the same way with humans; some people just never change.

In those rare moments you could have a serious discussion with Mephisto, and it was quite insightful to talk to someone that is not the demon brothers or the Lord of the Underworld and his creep butler. Though Mephisto is also a cunning demon, even after being taken off the RAD newspaper club, he still bosses the members around (“They are helpless without me!” he had said). Sneakily, of course. He had admitted the other day he only joined the student council to earn Diavolo’s favor and become the president of RAD newspaper again.

Today however, it looks like Mephisto is being cornered by two other demons. You recognize them, they used to say mean things about you (before you became ‘Lucifer’s protégé’). Those bully demons always seem to walk in pairs, the bastards. Both demons are laughing at Mephisto, probably making fun of his hobbies again. It makes your blood boil and the anger rise up again. You hate seeing someone being mocked, it brings terrible memories of your own bullies from high school. Standing quiet while a thousand insults were thrown at your face. ‘ _ Calm down, Tsuki, just walk past them. You aren’t even friends. He’s an acquaintance, at best. Just a demon that doesn’t bother you because he’s too afraid of Lucifer. _ ’

Right, right, let’s just walk past them fast, he won’t even notice you have been here.

“…You’re just a loser that likes hanging out with that  _ weak _ human.”

_ ‘Or maybe not.’ _

Turning right on your heels, you go straight into this mess. You miss what the other demon said, but it doesn’t matter, they are laughing again and Mephisto is just standing there, with his head low, and you can see yourself there, in that moment, wishing someone would come and help you.

“Hey,” you say, almost growling, “leave him in peace.”

The two demons stare at you surprised for a second, before scorning loudly. Mephisto raises his head and looks  _ shocked _ at you.

“So, the human friend comes to the rescue? You’re pathetic, Mephistopheles.”

“I told you to leave him in  _ peace _ ,” you growl for real this time.

Mephisto leaves his inertia state behind and runs to your side. He whispers at you hurriedly.

“Tsuki, it’s ok! Don’t get involved with them! Those two are the biggest troublemakers of RAD…”

Oh? Troublemakers? Just like you?  _ Perfect _ . Your hand is twitching to make problems on purpose. The weariness of always trying to help those goddamned stupid demons just to have it backfire horridly at you has hit its limit. Now you’re starting to rethink things. Like instead of solving problems on purpose, you can also create problems on purpose. Release some of this stagnant stress that has its roots deep inside of you. What is stopping you anyway? Nothing. The demon brothers aren’t here. What good did Diavolo even do for you?  _ Nothing _ . You don’t owe any demon anything.

“Or what,  _ human _ ?” The taller demon, the guy, steps closer, stopping right in front of you. But you don’t even flinch, in fact, you keep your eye contact, refusing to show fear. Strangely, you don’t feel a bit of fear, on the contrary, some abnormal confidence is taking over your whole body.

“That’s a scary face~” the other demon, the woman, chips in in a sarcastic tone. “Aren’t you afraid,  _ human _ ?”

“Hahaha,” you laugh in disdain, making their noses twist in annoyance. “I live with the seven avatars of sin.  _ Nothing _ scares me other than Lucifer. Try harder.” Your words drop like venom.

This time things will be different than with Belphie. The avatar of sloth faked being nice and got you by surprise, but now you are going to have the upper hand. You know what you have to do, in fact, you have been waiting for it. Just one miserable excuse to prove to those goddamned demons that you aren’t just an inoffensive and small human and even less so some meal. If you can’t win them over by being nice and behaving like an exemplar student, you  _ will _ win at something they valorize, strength.

“With pleasure,” the male demon spits.

He grabs your collar, grave mistake. In one fluid movement you slap his hand away, invoke the strength of the avatar of gluttony and punch him in the face with your other hand. Punching someone never felt this  _ good _ . While he falls backwards, the other demon flies to you and you can hear Mephisto yell. For some reason you can see everything in slow motion, different from that one time, back in the first week of RAD when you felt like the demons moved too fast for your eyes to follow. You kick the other one on the lateral of her body with a movement you learned from taekwondo. But as quick as they retreat, both are back and are jumping over you. Mephisto lets go of his previous hesitation and jumps into the male demon while you struggle with the female, starting to wrestle with her.

All your ears can collect is the demonic equivalent of high schoolers going full ‘Fight! Fight! Fight!’ and one loud demon that screams ‘Yes! Kill the human!’  _ ‘Screw them all.’ _

Before you realize it you’re on the ground with the demon, screaming, slapping, punching and scratching her, trying to do as much damage as possible. Her claws dig into your skin and tear it, blood leaking from your wounds. A sharp pain travels all over your arm and you hiss, but you manage to ignore the pain for time being. You are not going down without a fight, oh no,  _ not again _ . You can only see red, the only thoughts circling inside your head are ‘ _ Fight! Don’t lose! _ ’ All the pacts must be activated by now, you can feel the power from the demons running through your body like blood veins. It makes you feel  _ invincible _ . While in this crazy adrenaline and madness induced state, you feel like you have never been this  _ alive  _ before. Finally fighting against those demons that you hate so much. This is what they  _ deserve _ , to be beaten down by a human, so they can learn how to  _ respect _ other people. 

Someone gets you by the waist and drags you away from the demon after you had succeeded in punching her in the nose. You can hear the  _ crack _ sound of it breaking.  _ ‘Another demon! _ ’ You scream loudly, to the point you feel like your throat will be torn open from the sheer force of it. Squirming around, kicking and hitting whomever it is with your elbow, you try to break free.

“LET ME GO!”

Your captor drops you to the ground unceremoniously, making you hit the ground with your ass. The pain travels your whole body and makes you immobile for a few seconds. Looking up, slightly confused and very annoyed, you see the one who had held you was Beel. The avatar of gluttony is looking at you, completely still, with his hands up in the air and his eyes wide open. Looks like you used the pact powers to make him drop you. Hearing a hiss, you look at your side only to see the male demon in his demon form going straight at you. You don’t have time to move or think, Beel is behind you, and the demon is too close. For the first time today, you can feel a tad of fear.

It only lasts for about a second. Luckily for you, Mephisto charges into the demon, also in his demon form, throwing him away. The demon still has time to turn around and scratch his face, drawing blood instantly and throwing his glasses in the air. ‘ _ It’s not going to end like this! _ ’ Seeing red once again, you stand up and manage to take one step forward before being held by another demon. You thrash around again while screaming.

“It's me, ME!” You know this voice. “Stop moving!”

“Maaamooooon!” You scream just like Lucifer.

But since it’s just the idiot, you try calming down. You stop for a second, just in time to hear some unholy and pained screams. You see yourself turning in the direction of the demons. Satan, in all his demonic form and glory, is holding both assaulters by their necks. And, holy shit,  _ he looks terrifying _ . Satan has his whole face  twisted in anger. Real anger. You almost can’t say that’s the same Satan who loves to read and loves cats and treats you like a normal and decent person would. His eyes are glowing green in a way you never saw before. His hands have long claws instead of nails and you can see fangs from his mouth which is open while he growls, just like a dangerous animal. There’s an ominous and heavy aura around him that restrains both demons into quiet stillness, probably fearing for their lives. They tremble in fear and Satan’s whole body twitches in pure rage, pulling both demons closer to him.

“Wait, Satan, don’t kill them,” Lucifer calls out in a hurry.

‘ _ Lucifer?! _ ’

The avatar of pride is now closer to Satan trying to get his attention.  _ Great _ , he already found out. You may work fast, but the devils work faster.

“ **DON’T KILLL THEM?!** **_WHY_ ** **?** ” The voice of the avatar of wrath sounds more like a distorted thunder than a normal person’s voice. Pretty sure anyone in RAD can hear him. He stops, but he’s looking like he can very well jump into Lucifer at any second. How can Lucifer remain so damn calm while so close to Satan? He looks like a  _ real _ demon now. “ **LOOK AT WHAT THEY DID TO TSUKI!”**

‘ _ What did they do to me? _ ’ Your mind wanders for a moment, trying to connect with what is happening right now. It seems to be still stuck in fight mode. Lucifer looks in your direction too, only for a second. He has a pained expression.

“Don’t kill them yet, idiot!” Mammon says, still firmly pressed against your body, not allowing you to break free no matter how much you try. “Bring them to the student council!”

“Alive,” Beel reminds him and steps closer to Mammon and you. Looks like the pact power wore off.

“Yes, let’s bring them to the council first, Beel and Mammon can take care of Tsuki,” Lucifer says calmly. He looks like he’s trying to calm down a beast.

Satan starts cursing, a loud and long streak of bad words that puts your foul mouth to shame. His curses turn into more curses, but in several different languages as he disgruntledly drags the demons away, both petrified by either fear or Satan’s powers. Lucifer sends one last quick glance at you before turning and following Satan. Figures, he’d rather make sure Satan doesn't kill the other students, that’s so him, but you can’t even feel angry at it. Satan really does look like he can snap their necks and kill them instantly at any given second.

Scanning around for Mephisto, you see him still sitting on the ground with a hand on his face. His demon form looks like a magician’s outfit, all in black and with details and a bowtie in neon blue, just like his hair. He has two dark horns that curl backwards before curling upwards and a slim black tail with blue spots.

“Release me!” you scream. Mammon drops you to the ground, but this time you are ready and fall safely into your knees.

Sparing no time, you rush to Mephisto's side. Now that the adrenaline is starting to slow down you start to feel all your fresh wounds. Your left arm feels damp but you don’t dare to  _ look _ at it.

“Are you ok?” You sit beside him on the ground, just in time for Beel to hand him a red napkin. Beel always has one around to clean food from his mouth, face and hands. The demon uses the napkin to clean his wounds and dry the blood. He looks terrible, with messed hair and ragged clothes. His glasses are back on his face but falling off of his nose, and one of the lenses is cracked. Just now you realize you also lost your own glasses at some point. Where are they? Hopefully not crushed.

“It’s going to heal soon, don’t worry,” Mephisto smiles weakly at you.

“Why are you asking  _ him _ if he’s ok?!” Mammon's loud voice startles you. “Have you looked at yourself, Tsuki? Why did you even do it? Why were you fighting with those demons? Are you mad? Is it what you are? An insane human?”

You honestly don’t bother to reply, but you do look down at your own body. Your RAD uniform is all ragged and dirty, part of your chest is visible thanks to a huge cut and the skin there has a big scratch. Your left forearm is bleeding, the place where the woman demon sank her claws into you. The right side of your face feels swollen and your thighs are trembling slightly and aching. After taking martial arts for a few years, you started being dull to pain in some parts of your body, but you are out of shape and the pain is starting to get to you now.

Mammon tries to make you stand by pulling your good arm and your hiss, suddenly being hit by a wave of pain.

“Holy shit, you may be beaten in all places,” Mammon yells, letting go of your arm. “Beel, carry them, we are going to the infirmary.”

“Alright.” You don’t have time to ask for a minute before being held by Beel’s strong arms. You yell sharply, getting hit by another wave of pain. “You come too, Mephistopheles.”

Mephisto nods and Mammon puts something on your face. Wait, not something, your glasses. Now the world isn’t blurry anymore.

“Idiot! Don’t leave those behind,” he reprehends, but the greed demon also has your backpack on his back.

All three demons escort you to the infirmary. Paimon, the nurse, gasps when she sees you and quickly starts working on your arm wound. You fix your eyes on a wall, not wanting to see the damage and what Paimon is doing. Everything she does stings and hurts so much, but you don’t open your mouth to moan or cry. Or at least you try not to. Stupid pride. Beel and Mammon help Mephisto to cover his own wounds in the other infirmary bed. The nurse has barely finished treating your arm when you can hear some heavy footsteps in the corridor and the door swings wide open with a loud bam. Ah, talking about pride…the avatar of pride enters the infirmary in a hurry, but stops when he catches sight of you.

“What in Diavolo’s name  _ happened _ to you?”

“I threw hands with two demons,” you deadpan.

**“WHY DID YOU THROW HANDS WITH TWO DEMONS?!”**

Lord, he is loud. And scary. Looks like he  _ was _ keeping a calm façade in front of Satan just to not fuel him even more. He is one step away from going full demon form, but you are still in a fighting mood and the fear you normally feel towards Lucifer has not caught up with you yet.

_ “Because I wanted to.” _

Lucifer groans loudly, then starts pacing around the room, shaking his head and talking to himself in an exasperated way.

“Why must you be  _ like this _ ? Why can’t you just stay put for a single day?” Obviously, he’s talking about you. “I can’t believe you. Do you have no fear? What were you even trying to accomplish? Why do you never ask for help? Do I need to babysit you myself? Are all my brothers completely useless?”

“Hey, we are here!” Mammon reminds him, “And we  _ did _ help them!”

“Where’s Satan?” Beel asks.

“Sent him to the Colosseum so he can calm down first. I had to physically stop him from murdering the two demons. More than once.”

“Oh, scary,” Beel murmurs.

“When you say sent…”

“I convinced him, with words,” Lucifer cuts you off to explain. “So, you worry about Satan but not about your own wellbeing?!” he asks coldly.

“Uh… Actually,” Mephisto says, voice low and careful, “it was all my fa—”

“No! Let  _ me _ talk to him!” you quickly interrupt Mephisto. You are not letting him put all the blame on himself. “If you want to know the truth, Lucifer, I—ouch!” The nurse quietly apologizes as she had applied a bit too much pressure onto the wound on your face. It feels  _ so _ swollen now, half of your face must be dark from all the small blood veins that broke from the fight. “I was  _ dying _ to fight a demon. With my bare hands, yes. To release all this stress and anger inside of me. I feel vindicated.”

Lucifer is staring at you with tremendous anger. His crimson eyes are glowing and he looks about to explode; he may actually have a lot of self-control for not exploding yet.

“You are going to kill me,  _ if _ you don’t kill yourself first,” he mutters angrily. Technically you already died once. “My blood pressure has never been this high before and I live with Mammon.”

The avatar of greed says a loud and angry ‘Hey!’ to remind Lucifer he can hear him. Lucifer doesn’t even look his way.

“Will you accept some sedative, Lucifer?” Paimon asks when she ends with your face and now starts searching your body for more injuries.

“I will accept some yes, thanks, Paimon.” Then he moves and starts opening the shelves where the medicines are kept without permission. When he finds the right one, he puts the whole box in his coat pocket and moves to face you again. He looks like he wants to  _ kill _ you. “Your lecture will happen when we are back home, but first, tell me why you decided to attack those demons.”

‘ _ Why is he so insistent? _ ’

He probably already got everything that happened from the demons anyway, why must he be so adamant in knowing why you did it? He just admitted to knowing you were the only one who attacked first.

You sigh, feeling defeated. At least he will only lecture you at home.

“They insulted both Mephisto and me and I dared them to scare me off. The second one of them touched me I punched him. The rest you know how it went.”

The prideful demon stares at you incredulously. He straightens his posture after a minute.

“I see, so you asked for it.”

“Are you deaf?” His left eye twitches. “I told you already, I  _ wanted _ to fight a demon.”

“Why?” That’s all he says. From the way he’s slightly trembling and gripping his hands on his crossed arms with so much strength, he’s holding himself back to not go full lecture mode.

“Because I wanted to prove to myself that I can.”

He shakes his head, looks at you like you are a lost cause and tells Beel to carry you back home after the nurse is done. He storms out of the room as mad as he entered without another word or even sparing another glance at you. Maybe he should go join Satan in the RAD Coliseum  _ (‘wait a minute, where the Hell do they hide a coliseum here?!’ _ ) and vent out his anger too. 

When Paimon releases you, she scolds your impulsivity and gives you a lot of medicine: painkillers, anti-inflammatory pills and some body ointments for the bruises. Being scolded by the nice nurse is definitely not something you expected. You should give her a present, for always treating you so nicely.

Before Beel can take you to the House of Lamentation, Mephisto hurries to talk to you again. His wounds aren’t bleeding anymore, but he has some small bandages on his cuts, holding them together. Aside from his face cuts, he doesn’t look hurt like you. Lucky for him, but you can’t help but feel glad he’s in good shape.

“I only want to thank you,” he says, terribly shy and blushing. He reminds you of Levi a bit now. “No one ever came to my aid before, it means a lot. I’m so sorry you got so hurt because of me! It was all fault and you’ll still have to suffer with Lucifer’s anger.”

“It’s no big deal, I piss off Lucifer every week,” you reassure him, then gently pat his head. “No need to apologize, I did it because I wanted to. You are a cool guy, Mephisto, and I hate seeing someone get bullied. It’s fine, really.” You smile and Mephisto blushes even more. “And thank you for helping me as well, I know you said you hate fighting but you still helped me out back there!” 

He breaks eye contact, feeling shy.

“T-Thank you! It’s no problem, the least I could do was help you up, two demons against one human is not fair.” He takes a deep breath and smiles at you. “You are the cool one, Tsuki! Throwing hands with two demons to defend another demon? I’ll make sure the next edition of RAD Newspaper covers you as a big hero.”

“That would be an honor.”

Mephisto brightens. Mammon, the resident avatar of jealousy, makes you two stop and tells Beel to get you so everyone can go home. You have to tell Mephisto goodbye and brace yourself for later.

Back at the House of Lamentation, the rest of the day is spent lying on your bed while the demon brothers worry over you. Satan, Asmo, Belphie and Levi all appear right after you have taken a “bath.” Bath in this case meaning you cleaning up the dirt in the shower with the help of a wet towel while trying not to dampen your bandages. After being clean, before changing, is when you see the amount of damage you suffered. There are many bruises all along your legs and thighs, some very dark, all aching greatly. Several scratches are on your arms and neck, and one big one on your chest, in the place your uniform got ripped. The RAD coat and shirt are dirty and very ragged, useless. You are not sure if you should throw them out or hand it to Asmo or Levi for them to fix for you. And your face… Seems like you got a good punch; funny how you don’t even remember it, you really were out of your mind. Your right cheek is dark and swollen, which makes your right eye also a bit swollen. Many of the bandages cover your arms, one on your neck and a smaller one on the left side of your face.

Since you said you don’t want to be closer to Belphie, the avatar of sloth only stays on the doorknob, watching his brothers interact with you from afar. Seems like he respects you, which is great.

Beel had explained that the one who found out about your fight was Luke. The angel panicked and was trying to find Simeon or Solomon to help when he bumped into Beel and Mammon and told them to go help you instead.

Satan profusely apologized to you about his awful display earlier. When he’s wrath, he’s pure wrath, which he hates. He explains to you, on the verge of tears, how terrible he felt when he saw you hurt on the ground for the second time this week. It was your unholy screams when Beel held you away from the feral demons that caught the attention of both Satan and Lucifer, making both rush to your aid. Satan admitted he was barely holding himself together to not destroy the demons who attacked you. Lucifer recommended he release all his fury alone at the RAD coliseum and only go see you when he had calmed down. He got legitimately upset. Knowing that makes you feel so bad about your life decisions.

Mammon too. He has been by your side and trying to help ever since he had taken you away from your fight. Now you start feeling guilty for earlier… Maybe the shock from having your dead body in his arms impacted him more than what you expected. Well, they are demons, they walk over this type of stuff easy, right? Maybe. Maybe not. Probably not now…tomorrow you should clean up things with Mammon and tell him he isn’t banished from entering your room any more.

You were always reprimanding the brothers for never thinking and always doing whatever they wanted, and you end up doing the very same thing. Sure, it felt good to actually fight a demon, properly use some of pacts’ powers and protect your friend, but now that you see all the worried and sad expressions of the brothers, your heart aches as much as your body. In the end, you apologize for making them worried, and tear up a bit. And just yesterday you were overthinking the fact that they didn’t care about your death. They do care. And you put yourself in danger yet again. Lucifer’s lecture will be long today…

The demon brothers spend so much time with you in your room that they forget about dinner. Asmo has to call for delivery and only when Lucifer arrives does the food come as well. The avatar of pride doesn’t say a word. In fact, no one says a word during dinner. The atmosphere is tense, as if everyone can feel Lucifer’s bad mood radiating from him. Because it hurts to chew and your anxiety is starting to act up, you are the last one to finish eating.

“Everyone minus Tsuki can go now,” the avatar of pride says when he notices everyone has finished eating and there’s no more food left. Though he said 'can,' it is an order. 

The demon brothers wait for a moment, sending worried looks to each other and to you, but in the end, they have to go. Leaving you all alone with Lucifer. Seconds feel like hours while you stare at him expectantly. Lucifer stands up, calmly, and asks you to help him clear the dishes since he’s on cleaning duty today. You help him out, occupying yourself with drying the dishes while Lucifer washes them. You find it hilarious how he uses the rubber gloves on top of his leather gloves. He legit never takes those gloves off unless it’s for sleep or to take a bath. The work is done in complete silence, not helping your anxiety.

When you put the last of the dishes in their respective place, Lucifer takes off the bright yellow rubber gloves and discards them in the sink without care. He puts both hands on the sink, holding his weight while he keeps his gaze fixed on the inside of the sink.

“I actually don’t know where to start today,” Lucifer breaks the silence, still looking at the sink. He looks very upset. “ _ ‘This is a terrible idea. I am an awful human being, and will bring nothing but problems to you and your whole exchange program. I recommend finding someone else _ .’” Wait, that sounds familiar… You think for a moment, and there’s no mistake, those are your words, you said them back on your first day in the Devildom. “I thought you were lying just to be sent away, but looks like there was some truth to your words.”

“…I was lying…” you murmur, looking away, to some random point in the kitchen. “Or at least greatly exaggerating…”

“Never expected it to be so hard to keep a human out of trouble.” You whisper a small ‘sorry’ when Lucifer makes a pause. He turns away from the sink and looks at you. “Let’s start with this week, since I don’t have the whole night. First, you go back in time or something like that, and Belphie succeeds in killing you, not attempts to, not tries to, he succeeds to straight up  _ kill _ you, I don't care if it was another version of you, he killed you!” his voice suddenly rises in tone.

“That kind of wasn’t my fault…” you murmur, but are quickly cut off.

“Silence. And today, I was too deep in sleep to hear you scream in the morning. Turned out to be nothing but it could have been anything. Then, you go around hand fighting demons. I’m worried about letting you out  _ tomorrow _ ,” he scolds. “What kind of problems are you going to get yourself with now?”

You feel yourself shrink before Lucifer, he’s so angry. He took such a long time to come back home today too, and he’s still in his RAD uniform. Though with the sleeves rolled up and a few buttons open in his coat and shirt. Looks like he isn’t so fixated on being perfectly tidy when he’s at home.

“Sorry if I only bring you problems.” ‘Mister I am Busy’ you almost say, but keep quiet. You don’t need to get him even angrier. “Sometimes I can’t help it, trouble finds me… But today I admit what I did was my own fault, though I didn’t  _ plan _ for it to happen, I was just…thinking in the moment only. You must have faced a lot of problems in the student council today.”

There is a beat of silence before Lucifer speaks again.

“You seem to imply I don’t care about you.”

‘ _ Does he? _ ’ Constantly you ask yourself whether his worry is for you damaging the exchange program or if he truly cares about you. Lucifer is so tricky to read. There should be a line between ‘doing it for Diavolo’ and actually caring for your wellbeing, but the line is so tenuous you can’t tell the two things apart. Sure, he said he does care a while ago, but you two still fight and argue about pretty much everything. You feel like he’s of one mind when in the presence of his brothers (or someone else) and another when you two are alone. Your own insecurities don’t let you believe he cares when all of his brothers invaded your room a few hours ago worried while he screamed in the infirmary, looking like an angry mess. He didn’t even show much emotion when you died... Aside from holding Belphie… Well fuck, the anxiety is growing out of control and it’s winning over your rational side.

“Do you?” you impulsively ask, regretting it as soon as it leaves your mouth.

Amazing how you only need to say two words to tick him off so hard. In a second, he’s in his demon form, and you stumble backwards, almost knocking down the cupboard. It only lasts for about two or three seconds, because Lucifer calms down enough to go back into his human form. He groans, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Do you think seeing you hurt makes me happy?!” he screams into the silent kitchen. ‘ _ Is that a question?’  _ “It does not! Maybe you still don’t believe it, but I deeply regret attacking you in the tomb! And when Belphie killed you… One moment, I was with you, the next one, I see him over your dead body in the middle of the hallway. And then what? I got frozen in place. Looking at your bloody body without knowing what to do. If you were still alive I could…” he trails off and doesn't finish that train of thought. “But you were dead! I felt powerless.” 

Oh.  _ Oh.. _ . Slowly, the new information starts sinking into you. You had no idea he felt this way. You knew all the other brothers were a bit shaken by the “other you” death, as they told you yesterday and today... That’s why they all have been extra nice to you. Cooking all your favorite dishes. In RAD, they were actually going out of their way to meet you there. The D.D.D. doesn’t go five minutes without receiving a message. But Lucifer? You couldn’t tell what was going on in his head yesterday, all his brothers were expressing emotions in a very clear way but him. Honestly, out of all six (seven now) of the brothers, your relationship with him is the oddest one. You two are either at each other's throats or playfully teasing and borderline flirting. You don’t know what to think anymore, Lucifer is truly the Lord of the Mixed Signals. Every time you’re sure he may actually like you back he does a 180° change and turns cold and mean, like he got fed up with your bullshit. You’re tired, and hope he is too. Can’t he make up his damn mind about how he wants to treat you so you can stop doubting all of his actions? You started to think Lucifer simply had gotten over your ‘death’ easier than the others, but now you see that isn’t the case.

“And today? I should have woken up when you screamed this morning and had been the first one to find you fighting, I failed you twice  _ only _ today.”

Lucifer is calmer now, devoid of any anger. He really blames himself for everything, doesn’t he? His pride must be hurting a lot for him to admit it.

“You didn’t fail me!” you quickly say. “There’s nothing you or any of your brothers could have done for me in the Belphie situation, unfortunately.” Ah, there are many things you feel about that, but maybe now isn’t the time. “And for today, please remember your brothers can actually help me out sometimes. You don’t need to try to do everything by yourself, let the others help you too. It’s ok to ask for help sometimes.” You say everything at once, afraid stopping would cause you to lose your courage.  _ ‘Maybe I should start listening to my own advice.’ _

The calm yet firm tone in your voice seems to have thrown him off so hard he is at a loss for words. Bracing yourself, you step forward and put a hand on Lucifer’s forearm. At your light touch he arcs like you had electrocuted him, jerking away.

“Uh, just to be clear… You  _ do _ care about me, right?” You gather enough courage to ask.

Lucifer sighs deeply.

“If I have to spell it out for you to believe it, then be it. Yes, I do.”

“Ok,” you nod, shyly. It's good to have a confirmation. Lucifer eyes your hand on his arm for a moment before holding it with his own, making your heart skip a beat. He squeezes it gently. 

“That is why I got so angry today. You purposely got yourself into danger by involving yourself in someone else’s business. I would appreciate it if you take your own wellbeing a bit more seriously and think better about your actions from now on.”

He really can’t see you are a good person that doesn't mind helping others, does he? Well, but he does have a point, maybe throwing yourself at the danger today was a very impulsive thing you should rethink about doing again in the future; your whole body is aching, reminding you constantly about the consequences of your actions. 

“If I may.” His brows furrow slightly, seems like he can feel you’re going to argue. “All I ever did so far was try to help  _ you _ and  _ your brothers _ . And today I decided to help my friend. I despise unfairness and bullying, and though we aren’t even really friends, Mephisto is a good guy and he doesn’t deserve the shit he gets, just like me. And even when I  _ wanted _ to cause problems, I still didn’t do much besides being rude and talking back.”

“But today you decided to do more?” He retrieves his hand from you, and crosses his arms. You take your hand back too.

“Took quite a long time!” Your voice rises in annoyance, involuntarily. But you take a deep breath and try to calm down before saying something that will make Lucifer angry. “To be honest, I was still angry at my own helplessness. And I admit I wasn’t thinking right. But I was completely serious when I told you I always wanted to fight a demon. Especially after Belphie…” Your voice cracks when you remember what he did to you in the attic. “I felt like I wasted all my time training to use those stupid pacts to just die easily like that.”

“And you still didn’t use the pacts to summon one of my brothers today?”

“Yeah, I just wanted to punch those two pieces of shit, ok?” Now Lucifer furrows his eyebrows and shakes his head in a disapproving way. “But don’t worry, all the injuries on my body hurt like Hell. And next time I want to fight a demon, I swear I’ll remember to make a strategy first.”

“I don’t  _ want _ you to fight a demon  _ again _ ,” he says as if he’s commanding you not to do it. “Just summon Beel or Satan, or better yet, Mammon, and send them to fight in your place.”

“Does Mammon even know how to fight?”

Lucifer chuckles.

“Why don’t you find out?” he says in a sadistic way. The avatar of pride chuckles again when he sees your confused and disconcerted face. “So, you’re not regretting your actions?”

“No, sir.” It’s your turn to cross your arms.

“I see, in that case I need to punish you.” ‘ _ What did he just say? _ ’ Every muscle in your body goes into alert. “Hmm...let’s see.” He has that sadistic expression again. “I know, since you are already beaten, I’m taking away your pain medicine so you have to endure the pain on your own. Additionally, you are taking both cooking and cleaning duty for the next two days.”

“What?!” Desperation starts setting in your core and you feel like you’re about to pass out. You always knew this day would come, the day Lucifer gets fed up with your bullshit and decides to punish you. “No, you can’t! Lucifer, my whole body hurts, I can’t do all of that by myself while hurting so much, I feel like I won’t be able to do anything if every part of my body hurts!”

“Too bad, it wouldn’t be a punishment if it was pleasant right? Maybe that will teach you a lesson.”

“I…” You want to cry. The tears, you can already feel them forming. That’s cruel. “You’re evil, Lucifer!” you cry out in a pained way.

It feels like your body is aching more now. You wouldn’t mind the double work too much if he didn’t take your pain medicine. Shouldn’t you be resting too? You don’t know what the nurse did to you because you are certain you will need stitches on your arm. Moving it around too much would make it longer to heal. This demon is just too cruel.

Lucifer’s expression gets serious all of a sudden as he keeps staring at you, as if sensing how upset you are. Maybe you should cry, you know he doesn’t know how to react to people’s crying too well. Ask him for anything else. Wait, maybe not  _ anything _ , who knows what the demon may order you to do next.

“Strip.”

“ _ What? _ ” Wow, you expected it from Mammon or Asmo but not Lucifer. You step involuntarily away and hit the damn cupboard again. It trembles and some cups hit each other, making lots of noises. This thing has most of Lucifer’s beloved fancy tea cups, you can’t let it fall to the ground. Who knows what punishments you’ll get for breaking his cups? You decide to move away. “P-Pervert! What are you talking about?!” you yell in a high-pitched voice, covering your body with your hands in a defensive way and blushing hard. Has Lucifer gone mad?!

“Who are you calling a pervert?” he grunts in a displeased way. “I only want to see the extension of your injuries, that’s all.”

“Ah,” you let out a sound of relief. But still. Striping right in front Lucifer? Does he want to kill you from embarrassment? “Y-You didn’t need to just say ‘strip’ and scare me shitless, you know. But right now? And here? In the middle of the kitchen?”

‘ _ As if it would be less embarrassing in your room or in the bathroom, dumbass!’ _

Lucifer stares at you for a while longer, impassive. Then, he looks to the side and seems to concentrate on something for about a minute. When he returns to look at you, he has an evil smile.

“I can’t hear anyone nearby so you’re safe.” ‘ _ No, I don’t think so _ .’ “But if you’re too shy to show me your skin, I guess I won’t change my mind about the…”

“Ok, you won! I’ll strip!” you say quickly. ‘ _ Why did I say that? _ ’ you whine internally.

You look down. Hiding the several purple spots on your skin was the reason why you put on the long sweatpants. If you knew you would end up having to take them down in front of Lucifer you would have chosen some shorts. But you can’t see the future, ‘ _unlike some evil butler that sent me to my death!_ _Ah, no, don’t think about it now._ ’

Groaning, you let your hand rest on your waistband, too embarrassed to put them down. Lucifer keeps staring at you with that funny expression, like he’s pretending to be disinterested but failing, and there’s a smile in the corner of his mouth. You want to tell him to look away, but what if he loses his patience and takes them off himself? ‘ _ Oh no, I just imagined it and it's so much worse! _ ’ Shaking your mind out of the imagination, you decide to just end your suffering and let your pants drop down. You keep your eyes low and fixed on the ground so you don’t see his expression.

A short inhale of air reaches your ears. Lucifer steps closer and you keep paralyzed in the same place, too mortified to move, your whole face burning with embarrassment. The time seems to drag. Why is it taking so long?

“I guess you are lucky you didn’t break any bones,” Lucifer says after a long pause, his voice low and stern. “All those bruises…” He makes a pause. Your gaze is kept somewhere else, in the stupid cupboard, which suddenly got so much more interesting, all those hundreds of years old cups, fascinating. “What about your shirt?”

_ ‘Oh fuck _ .’ 

“Uh… I just got one—”

“Show me.”

“Ok…” You don’t even argue. Reaching for your pants, you put them back. Your hand holds the bar of your shirt and you whine again. Instead of taking it off completely, you only raise it enough to show the ugly cut on your chest. The nurse applied some ointment there that made the cut close and applied a couple of small bandages to not let it open completely. She gave you the ointment to keep applying to the cut.

After a moment Lucifer brings two fingers under your chin and raises your head so you look at him. It startles you enough to let go of your hold on the shirt, making the fabric fall back to cover your body again. The avatar of pride has that stern face that he uses when he’s lecturing you or his brothers, but it looks just a  _ bit _ softer now.

“You know that it was the power of your pacts that prevented you from leaving that fight in an even worse state, right?” You nod slightly, since his hold, though gentle on your chin, is very strong. His eyes are very serious but his voice is calm. “Neither I nor my brothers wish to see you hurt again, so, please, think more carefully about your actions.” Again, you try to nod to show you’re listening. “I reconsider my punishment. I’ll let you keep the painkillers but now you are bound to do both cooking and cleaning duty for the next three days. If you want help, make  _ sure _ I don’t see or hear it. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.” The answer is immediate, his presence is too strong. Your heart beats faster than normal for being  _ so close _ to Lucifer.

“Good,” he smiles. The avatar of pride dives down and kisses your bruised cheek. His actions make you jerk in shock, barely able to tell what he just did. “What’s wrong, don’t you humans say to kiss an injury to heal it?”

‘ _ AAAAAH, this jerk!’ _

“W-we only say it to little kids! To make them stop crying!” you say, body trembling. You try to take Lucifer’s hand off your chin but he doesn’t even move. Instead, his smile gets wider.

“And you aren’t a small kid?”

“I am not! I’m an adult and I’m  _ not _ small, you and your brothers are just too tall!”

Lucifer laughs. He bends forward again and kisses your forehead this time. Letting go of your chin, he steps away, in a good mood, while you are still staring at him, unsure if that kiss even happened. Is…he showing affection now because you doubted he liked you?

“You should go back to your room and rest,” Lucifer says, now looking at the kitchen’s clock. “A lot of work is waiting for me… And for you, tomorrow,” he smiles.

“Evil. Monster. Demon,” you mutter under your breath.

“What was that you just said?”

“Thank you so much for not taking away my medicine!” you say louder, forcing a smile. “I will  _ definitely _ do all the work by myself for the next three days!”

“Wonderful. And about the demons that fought you,” he adds quickly, “don’t worry about them. I don’t think they will be bothering anyone else for a long time.”

“Great news! I’ll make sure to tell Mephisto, thanks,” you say, glad that now he has less two bullies.

“That’s no problem, punishing troublemakers is part of my job,” he chuckles evilly.

Job. That reminds you…

“By the way, Lucifer…” You step closer, voice low. “Could…could you convince Diavolo to not ask to see me anytime soon?”  _ 'Aaah, there it goes, I asked it.’ _

“Hmm?” He raises his eyebrows. “Why wouldn’t you want to meet with Lord Diavolo? He more than likely will ask to see you to be sure you’re okay.”

Keeping your gaze down, you start fidgeting with the bar of your shirt. Of course he would ask, it’s Lucifer. You don’t want to reply, not the truth, not that you want to tell Diavolo to go fuck himself and jump off a cliff for dragging you to literal Hell and making you go through all of that time travel and dying stuff. Should have thought of an excuse before asking. Now the avatar of pride won’t let you leave until you explain to him  _ why _ . ‘ _ Fuck, just think of something…!’ _

“I see,” Lucifer says suddenly, making you stare at him in shock. “I’ll tell him I scolded you for a long time and that you are profoundly sorry for your actions and prefer to deeply reflect on them before having the courage to face Lord Diavolo again. Since you are so terribly ashamed of staining the exchange program.”

You open your mouth to argue, since it’s a blatant lie. Maybe the biggest lie you have ever heard Lucifer say. But then, it comes to you that Lucifer is willing to cover you up. And he didn’t even insist on asking why. Wow, if you could beat up your own insecurities for making you doubt Lucifer likes and cares about you, you would.

“Thank you, Lucifer,” you tell him, sincerely.

He smiles, wearing an understanding expression. He knows something is up. Legit nothing escapes this man. Today however, you are glad for it.

“Have a good night, Tsuki.”

“You too.”

You both leave the kitchen right after, going to your respective rooms. Well, it wasn’t so bad. May even consider it the best “lecture” Lucifer has made you go through. When you return to your room, there is a mountain of texts and missed calls on your D.D.D. waiting for your attention. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Both me and my beta reader/editor LOVE this chapter, some feedback would be appreciated (she's excited to know what everyone thinks of this chapters, especific, but I barely get comments so). I am a starving writer, folks, I live for /validation/.   
> SO, COMMENT OR ELSE!!!!! the demon brothers and Simeon will be disappointed >:(


	4. Underwater

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Underwater by MONSTA X  
> I got shook at how well the lyrics of Underwater fit here (of course, my fav kpop group has to feature here). But for real, this song is beautiful.
> 
> Many warnings: strangulation, nightmares, trauma, slightly non-con touching (after all, Lucifer is the avatar of consent -_-'')

**Chapter 4 — Underwater**

There is a sea of darkness around you. Pitch black darkness. The only thing you can feel is the cold. A freezing cold sensation that remains frozen in place. Then, you realize you can’t breathe. Someone is choking you, the pain on your throat radiating through your whole body and leaving you light-headed. Still, you can’t see a thing. Can’t see who is choking you. Suddenly you hear laughing. A maniac and cold laugh that rings in your ears and turns your blood into ice. Finally, you have a glimpse of something right before waking up: it’s the emotionless eyes of a demon.

Startled, you move in the bed. Drenched in sweat and panting, heartbeat going crazy. You focus on the soft lights hanging on the tree for a few seconds. That’s right, this is your room. You’re alive. Absentmindedly you check your neck, but it seems normal. You sigh heavily amidst the darkness of your room. It’s the fourth day in a row. You cannot sleep anymore without being plagued by nightmares. Months ago, you were dreaming with Lilith’s memories of the Celestial War, but now that she’s gone, these nightmares are yours and yours alone.

“Maybe I should start taking this trauma seriously…” you tell yourself, alone in the room.

After making sure the boys didn’t see you as their dead sister, you thought you could go on living while trying to get over the murder part by yourself. They must think you’re okay. You made sure to show you’re okay. That resolve lasted about three days before the nightmares started.

Tapping the nightstand at random, you feel your D.D.D. and grab it to see the time: it’s 3:34 in the morning. You roll in bed, groaning. At this rate, you’ll collapse from exhaustion at any given point. Your misfortune seems to have no limits. Killed, pitied by a ghost, made to live with your own murderer, bruised from a fight and now the nightmares that prevent you from sleeping. Great, just great, this time you may have finally hit rock bottom.

All muscles from your body hurt. And your head too, heavy and pulsing with the lack of rest. So tired but constantly woken up by nightmares. And that evil bastard sadistic demon called Lucifer still gave up that evil punishment. Since he basically told you he expects you to cheat, you thought it would be easier, dude just locks himself all day in his study anyway.  _ But not this time _ . He wakes up earlier to watch you cook breakfast. Literally every inch of your body hurts no matter how you move, and you don’t know if it is thanks to the bruises from the demons or from the amount of demonic power you borrowed from the pacts. It doesn’t matter since all that exists within you now is  _ pain. _

It feels good to outsmart Lucifer. That first morning after the fight, you broke a bunch of eggs in a frying pan to make scrambled eggs and called the local bakery to deliver some hundreds of breads. Coffee? The coffee machine will do. Juice? Also bought from the bakery. And that was breakfast, so technically, you did cook something. You had a smug smile the whole time but Lucifer also had a small smile of his own.

You asked Asmo to buy a present for Paimon to thank her for everything she had done so far for you. A normal present, like clothes. During breakfast, when you explained about the punishment, the demon brothers didn’t look very happy with it. You told them it wasn’t  _ that _ bad and asked them to try to stay in their own rooms and not make any unnecessary problems or dirty the place.

During break at RAD, Mephisto came to meet you and gave you the newest edition of RAD Newspaper. He and his club members wrote quite a long article about the fight yesterday. It was very well written. No wonder some demons started to give you mean looks again—they must have hated how the newspaper made you look like a hero. Mephisto was barely scratched from yesterday, as the demon’s regeneration is a lot faster than humans’. He also asked for an interview with  _ The Tsuki _ . Honestly, you had nothing to lose, so you gave them the interview after classes. For the rest of the day, the demon brothers  _ only _ talked about that article. They were both very proud of you and still scolding.

At the House of Lamentation, Satan made dinner while you rested in the kitchen and Asmo watched for any signs of Lucifer. He didn’t appear so you thought the avatar of pride was taking it easy with you. _‘Oh wow, he really has a soft spot for me!’_ _But you were so wrong_. That son of a bitch didn’t leave after dinner, instead he waited patiently until you had to stand up to clean the dishes (Levi and Beel stayed a bit longer and helped carry the dirty dishes to the sink). Then he followed you to the damn kitchen and watched you clean the dishes in silence for a couple of minutes. Your sore muscles complained about it the whole time.

“Are you tired?” You never wanted to throw a juice jar in his face so much before.

“I am…doing my chores…” you said through gritted teeth.

“I wanted to see if you wish to have some help.”

What will even happen if you said you want help? Would he double the punishment?

Your right hand grips so tightly on one of the cups you are afraid of breaking it to pieces and scattering glass all over the sink, severely injuring your hand  _ (‘That’s like, the last thing I need’) _ . If Lucifer wanted to break you, he had to try harder.

“Thank you.” If you were a venomous snake, Lucifer would be covered in venom by now. “But I am fine.”

“Are you sure?”

_ ‘Get the Hell out of my sight!’ _

Instead of a cup, you could just throw water on him, making him upset but not attempting to hurt him. Though he would probably make you dry the floor… You tried to ignore the impulsive wishes.

“Yes,” you smiled.  _ ‘Just go away.’ _

He smiled then (finally) left. You sighed, stopped clearing the dishes, and waited till you couldn’t hear his footsteps anymore. Then you messaged Mammon and told him to drag Levi’s ass down so they both can help you clean and make part of tomorrow’s breakfast.

The next day was also just like this. Lucifer arrived at the dining room earlier than usual, when Beel was helping you with the table. As soon as the avatar of gluttony saw his older brother, he let the tray in his hand fall heavily on your left arm, the injured arm. You pressed your lips together and swallowed a scream. All your almost-healed cuts seemed to have caught fire and opened all at once. Beel whispered several apologies to you while you pretended nothing happened and finished preparing the table. It hurt so much you lost your appetite.

Yesterday you felt like you hadn’t slept at all. All of the injuries were a lot better already thanks to the ointments and the medicine Paimon gave you (she loved the dress Asmo bought!), but you were sleeping less and less every passing day despite your growing exhaustion. Since you were already up at the crack of dawn, you woke up Satan so he could make the food for you while you lay exhausted on the kitchen table, not even trying to help him today. The avatar of wrath asked if you were alright at least seven times, but you reassured him you just had a bad night of sleep. At least Lucifer had finally given you a break and didn’t insist on watching you be the resident maid of House of Lamentation. Can’t wait until that RAD break starts, you needed a fucking break in your life. Just one more week to go…

Back in the present, in the darkness of your room, you roll in the bed again, feeling conflicted about your options.

“I don’t want to bother him…!” you whine into your pillow.

Sleeping with Lucifer helped you with the previous nightmares, but you don’t want to wake him up at three in the morning. However, it’s been six days since you last had a good night of sleep. The last thing you need is to fall asleep at RAD only to jerk away from a nightmare in the middle of the classroom, embarrassing yourself. Groaning again, you roll to the other side of bed. This can’t keep going like this. Sooner or later someone will realize you’re not dealing with the aftermath of Belphie’s attack as well as you say. Satan was looking pretty suspicious yesterday…

“ _ It's the same each and every night. Glare at my screen with two big bloodshot eyes. I'm stuck, self-torturing. My meds are failing me. Internal clock in smithereens. Can't fix this, I'm hopeless _ .”

You are happy it’s still possible to listen to human world music on your D.D.D. but now I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead by Set It Off keeps replaying in your head and you hate how this song is becoming more and more real.

“ _ My eyes are stapled open wide. As I lay down on my side…” _ you stop trying to remember the rest of the lyrics. “ _ I am bouncing off these walls. As I focus on the clock. Time stands still but I cannot. I should strap myself in bed. I guess I'll sleep when I am dead.” _ You sigh. “‘ _ I guess I’ll sleep when I am dead.’ _ ”

After a long time, you leave bed. Sleeping with Lucifer does sound better than only sleeping when you are dead, after all. You still spent a long time in the bathroom then walk in circles inside your room until you finally get enough courage to just go to Lucifer’s room. It's on another side of the hallway and it’s  _ dark _ . You’re so messed up by the nightmares you can’t help but keep looking to the sides, afraid something will jump at you at any moment. Screw not making noise, you sprint to the avatar of pride’s room.

You knock on his door. Nothing. You knock again, louder and more insistent this time. Still nothing. Now, you could probably just sneak in and try to sleep  _ but _ . You wouldn’t do anything again against Lucifer’s rules. Never. Again. This time you learned the lesson.

Sighing, you turn to leave, but in this exact moment, the door opens. You turn again to face a very sleepy Lucifer, who can barely keep his eyes open. Ah shit, now you feel bad for waking him up; he has such trouble falling asleep too.

“Did my brothers do something?” Ah, of course he would think that’s the case.

“No… I...” You stop, trying to swallow your shame. “I’m having nightmares again.” You stare at the ground under your feet. “It’s been a few days that I can’t sleep well. I’m very, very, tired.”

There’s a beat of silence. You don’t want to see the expression Lucifer is making. The silence seems to be lingering and you are half expecting to hear the door closing any second now.

“Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?” you heard Lucifer say. Raising your head, you look at him. He has a disapproving look, but the door is opening to let you in.

Lucifer is definitely too tired to give you a lecture, because he goes back inside. When you enter, you see him lying back in his bed. It makes you pretty confused, but you take it as an invitation anyway. Closing the door as silently as possible, you quickly join Lucifer in bed, only murmuring a quiet ‘thank you’ before trying to sleep.

**Lucifer POV**

Lucifer feels like he had just fallen asleep when he wakes up hearing someone knock on his door. Grunting, he feels forced to see who it is. What if someone set the kitchen on fire? Maybe Asmo’s admirers are bothering his brother in the front yard again. Mammon could have escaped with his credit card, again. What if something happened to Tsuki? He’s already up and opening the door when the last thought crosses his head. Whatever it is, must be urgent. No one would wake him up if it isn’t urgent.

It’s the pesky human. ‘ _ Hell, why _ .’ Having nightmares again, can’t sleep again. Lucifer holds the wish to sigh, he’s not surprised. He lets them in, and since he’s too tired and too sleep deprived, he decides to scold Tsuki tomorrow and go back to sleep. There’s a meeting in the student council early in the morning and he needs to be well rested for it.

Once again, Lucifer feels like he sleeps for maybe a minute or two before being woken. But this time is different. A hand pushes him away, right in his face, and he backs off. He would normally go full demon form and attack whoever did it, if it weren’t for Tsuki’s screams. Visceral and loud screams. He is awake  _ immediately _ , and opens his eyes just in time to see the human jerking away from him, almost falling out of the bed. They have a terrified expression, and their eyes are wide open, panting heavily and clutching the bed sheets that are tangled with their body. They look just like some prey that has been corned by a predator. Lucifer quickly scans the room, but there’s no one else here, he can’t feel another demon’s presence either. He looks back at the human. He never saw such a strong, fearful, expression on them before. The closest would be the terrified expression they had when faced with Belphegor a few days ago. Now that he thinks about it, Tsuki looks just like Mammon when he saw Tsuki’s dead body. ‘ _ Dammit _ .’

“Are you ok?” Lucifer asks, carefully, not moving an inch, afraid he could scare them even more. However, he can tell they know it isn’t a dream.

Instead of replying, their eyes get watery. They quickly take their hands to rub at their eyes. Lucifer sighs tiredly. ‘ _ Here we go again _ .’ He’s not fit for this. Still. He gets closer to the small human, gently, and pulls them more to the center of the bed. They can still fall, considering how close to the edge of the bed they are. Lucifer holds both of their hands, not sure about what to say. Tsuki sobs for a little while but looks like they are not going into a full blown crying session this time.

“Are you feeling better? Do you want to talk about it?” he tries speaking again. Knowing Tsuki, they probably don’t wish to talk about it, but Lucifer needs to know what exactly is plaguing them. The human sighs.

“I kept dreaming that I am dying, over and over again,” they say in a hoarse and tired voice. “Those nightmares feel so real too…”

“Since when?”

They groan and look away. Lucifer knows they don’t want to say it, but he’s not giving up. After a moment they do tell him.

“Today’s the fourth day.”  _ Great _ , they haven’t slept in four days and now Lucifer is not sleeping again too. “…Sorry.”

“Are you apologizing for hitting my face or for hiding it?” He honestly doesn't care. His face isn’t hurting and he’s not surprised by their stubbornness of trying to put on a strong façade. If anything, he’s more pissed at barely sleeping. The only reason Lucifer keeps on pressing them to talk is to make them more aware of their surroundings, for them to realize they are not dreaming or in any danger anymore.

“Both.”

Lucifer resists the urge to sigh again. At least they apologized. He looks back at their interlaced hands. Tsuki’s hands are cold and sweaty, but he doesn’t care, that’s to be expected. Lucifer tries to think of a way to help them but he keeps finding himself wanting to scold them.

“Didn’t you tell me the other day that 'it's ok to ask for help’?” For someone who goes to such extremes to help others, they sure can’t help themselves. 

They groan in displeasure again. They almost roll their eyes; he can see it.

“Yes. I know. I just. I didn’t want to worry anyone.”

“Well, you can be sure I am both worried  _ and _ disappointed now,” Lucifer lets out a bit of his anger in this voice. He stops to recompose himself for a second. “Clearly, you didn’t expect someone to find out? My brothers and I aren’t that dense that we wouldn’t notice a change in your behavior.”

“I know…” they repeat, a hint of annoyance on their voice now.

“Then stop trying to face everything yourself.” ‘ _ Damn, why do they remind me so much of myself? _ ’ “Maybe you should follow your own advice.”

“I KNOW!” Tsuki screams this time, voice covered with such anger that could rival his or Satan’s. Ah. They are sleep deprived. “Urg. Sorry, I shouldn’t have screamed at you…” they add rather quickly.

Lucifer does sigh now. He squeezes their hands for a second before letting go. Tsuki finally looks back at him. Their eyes show a strange expression the demon can’t quite understand. It isn’t curiosity but it isn’t fear either...uneasiness?

“Since I don’t think any of us will be able to go back to sleep anymore, let me make you breakfast.” When their expression softens, he realizes they were indeed worried about Lucifer just leaving them behind or something. He spares a quick look at the time on his D.D.D. before talking back to Tsuki. “I have to leave earlier today for a meeting, but there’s enough time for us to enjoy breakfast together. So, you should go back to your room to change.”

Tsuki keeps looking at him for a moment, before getting up and leaving. It is…quite strange, seeing them just leave quietly, normally they would fight to have the last word. Lucifer can’t help but to feel concern. They must be  _ really _ tired. Lucifer doesn’t like babysitting anyone, but in this case, he must keep a good eye on them, now that he knows the extent of their stubbornness.

The avatar if pride gets ready in record time. He’s at the kitchen and brewing coffee before he can even notice it. Opening the cabinet, he tries to figure out what to cook. Tsuki likes pancakes, right? Well, they certainly like cooking them, Lucifer never ate pancakes so frequently before.  _ ‘Pancakes, it is.’ _ He makes the dough and starts cooking. After a few more minutes, he starts to get worried about the human. He grabs his D.D.D. to look at their location—still at their room. The D.D.D. is left open on the counter while Lucifer finishes cooking. When the location changes, he knows they moved, going to their door now, good. He takes back his D.D.D., closes the app and hides it in his pocket. For a smart human such as Tsuki, they sure are taking their time to figure out the GPS.

Tsuki arrives at the kitchen and goes straight to sit at the table. They leave their backpack in another chair and rest their head at the table, eyes closed. For some reason they are using glasses today. Asmo gifted them quite a few months ago, black and white square glasses. Are they too afraid to lose contacts, maybe? Too tired to care? They have been wearing glasses more frequently lately.

Lucifer finishes preparing the table in silence. Once he’s done, he walks to the human and gently rubs their hair, which is still very damp from the bath. He frowns, but decides not to tell them to dry it more next time. Tsuki moves sluggishly. They look at Lucifer with one eye open before sitting decently on the chair. Lucifer hangs close to Tsuki for one more moment, sufficient to watch them up close in the brightness of the kitchen. They are paler and have dark bags under their eyes, which are a bit red. They probably cried during the shower; no wonder they took so long to get here. Lucifer sits beside them without saying a word. They know they look like trash; he doesn’t have to say it out loud, it would only make them more upset.

“Oh, these taste great,” they say suddenly, looking amazed at the pancakes. Looks like Lucifer was right after all.

He can’t help but smile. They finally showed some positive emotion.

“You are welcome,” Lucifer says. The pancakes taste decent to him.

They are both drinking coffee. Part of him wanted to make some tea, maybe some iced tea, but the thing Tsuki likes drinking more than anything is coffee and the demon  _ is _ trying to make them more comfortable right now. As expected, they drink the dark coffee with passion.

When he’s done, Lucifer looks at the time. It’s a good time to get going. Levi is on cooking duty today and he should be getting in the kitchen any time now. Leviathan is good friends with Tsuki so they should be fine. He spares another look at the human. Looks like they are finished now, but they didn’t eat as much as Lucifer would like them to. He’s itching to tell them they are pale, weak and look sick, but he bites his tongue. That scream earlier wasn’t a good sign, he’s afraid they are still over the edge.

“I’ll be going now, you can go with my brothers,” Lucifer tells them. Tsuki turns their head to face Lucifer with a confused expression. Looks like they were distracted. “I’m going to RAD,” he repeats, “wait for my brothers and go with them. When I come back home, we’ll talk.”

“Didn’t we talk already?”

Oh, the nerve. The  _ nerve _ of the human.

Lucifer swallows a rude remark to himself. ‘ _ Patience, Lucifer, snapping at Tsuki will only make things harder.’ _

“We’ll talk  _ again _ when I’m back,” he rephrases, hoping that’s enough to get the point delivered. Tsuki seems to get it this time, nodding, though they seem a bit reluctant to talk.

Levi chooses that moment to enter the kitchen. He gets shocked by the presence of both Lucifer and Tsuki. Lucifer quickly excuses himself and tells (orders) Levi to watch over Tsuki today. He heard some complaints coming from the human that he does not pay attention to, but if he needs to guess, it was something along the lines of ‘I don’t need a babysitter.’

His day seems to drag to no end. The meeting takes too long, the classes take too long, the mountain of paperwork on top of his desk seems to have no end. Lord Diavolo came to him today to say he wishes to speak to Tsuki and Lucifer had to use all his persuasion yet again to convince Lord Diavolo to wait a few more days. Lucifer has a terrible gut feeling that’s a bad idea. They haven’t touched the topic of His Lord and Barbatos’s participation in the time loop situation. Lucifer’s unsure of how to approach the topic with the human as well.

At some moment, he stops to take a break and realizes it’s just past the end of classes. The avatar of pride decides, for the first time in forever, to say 'fuck it' and leave his work behind. There will always be work. And he can’t concentrate anyway, his mind keeps wandering back to Tsuki. Damn human, why must he care so much about them? His brothers are already enough.

Lucifer stops right in his tracks when he realizes something.  _ ‘My brothers are already enough.' _ Ah. Shit. That’s why they refused to ask for help, right? Groaning, Lucifer clears his office and locks the door. He chooses a quick pace to return home. This will be a long night.

When he arrives home, everyone is already there. He checks the app before going straight to Tsuki’s room. He stops right in front of their door, however, and opens the chatting app instead.

**Lucifer**

_ I’m home. _

_ Can we talk? _

**Tsukishima**

_ Woah, already?!?! _

_ Are you feeling well? _

**Lucifer**

_ Very. _

_ Are you feeling well? _

No answer.

The door is  _ right here. _ He just needs to enter. But  _ no _ … Let’s do it the  _ human _ way.

**Tsukishima**

_ Been better. _

_ Sure. _

_ But you’ll have to help me with my last homework later. _

**Lucifer**

_ Just throw it at Satan and tell him to get it done. We both don’t have time for it. _

**Tsukishima**

:Shocker sticker:

_ Lucifer is telling me to cheat on my homework??? _

_ The world is ending!!! _

**Lucifer**

_ Stop with this nonsense. _

_ Like I said, we don’t have time for homework. There are more urgent matters at hand. I don’t care as long as the homework is done. _

_ Did I make myself clear? _

**Tsukishima**

:Ok sticker:

_ Clear as water. _

_ Not complaining, sir Lucifer, sir. _

_ Where? _

_ Ah _ .

**Lucifer**

_ Study. _

And he ran. He actually ran away.

The study door is wide open. When Lucifer arrives and checks his phone, he sees Tsuki is still in their room. He ran for nothing. But, since it looks like he has some time, he goes to the kitchen and starts preparing some food and drinks. He feels like they will be there for a while…

“Lucifer’s saving food?” Beel says behind him, with a confused expression. It must be his snack time.

“I’m…” He is caught by surprise and doesn't really know what to say for a moment. “It’s…for Tsuki.”

“Oh, you noticed too.”

_ ‘Too _ ?’

“I think they aren’t doing so well…” Beel laments, eyebrows down. “I don’t see them eating a lot and they have been quieter. I asked if they were ok today but they keep brushing it off.” Beel has good observation skills. Lucifer agrees. “So, you’re trying to get them to eat more? I think that’s a great idea! Tsuki’s starting to look sick, I have thought about the same thing, actually.”

“Yes, I invited Tsuki to have some snacks in my study, so you don’t have to worry about it today.”

“Okay. Thanks, Lucifer.” Beel smiles.

“But, please, keep a good eye on Tsuki, I don’t think they are doing very well either.”

Beel nods energetically and promises to keep watching over Tsuki.

Lucifer leaves with a big tray of snacks, fruits and drinks. He hears his D.D.D. ringing but ignores it. As he thought, Tsuki is in front of his study with their D.D.D. in hand. They look surprised at Lucifer; they must think it’s odd for him to be ‘late.’ Hmph, silly human, Lucifer is never late. Never. Following him inside, they close the door, but don’t lock it.

The tray is left on top of his clean desk. Only clean because he didn’t even  _ start _ his work today. Probably, won’t even start. He wishes he could sigh at the desk. Lucifer hates to accumulate more work but there’s nothing he can do about it right now. He sits at his big red chair anyway, gestures for Tsuki to sit in front of him and waits. They do, after a moment of hesitation.

“So,” Lucifer starts, since they are being stubbornly quiet. “What do you want to tell me today?” They are not looking at him. Lucifer gives them exactly ten seconds before speaking again. “I don’t like being ignored.”

He hears a growl.

“Nothing.”

“Nothing isn’t an option.”

This will be long.  _ So long. _ He’s already tired. His mind wanders back to all the work that is currently accumulating but he tries to ignore it for now.

“Listen.” Lucifer turns down his voice and tries to get rid of any irritation. “I only want to help you. Believe it or not.”

That makes the human face him. They have their arms crossed over their chest. They seem a bit more lively now.

“Ok,” they say, after a long pause. “As ironic that it may sound, I don’t think I’m afraid of Belphie, but every time I look at him, I remember what he did to me and it drives me insane. I’m so not over having died and coming back. I have no idea if I am still  _ me _ , like, doesn’t that mean my ‘real’ body vanished and I’m now in the body of another very similar version of myself? Isn’t that crazy as Hell?” When they start talking, they don’t stop. They do that sometimes. “My nightmares are so vivid of that moment too, it’s always dark and I feel cold and like I’m being choked and…”

“That’s  _ enough _ .” He speaks quickly and loudly, cutting off their rambling. “You don’t need to tell me the details.” He doesn’t want to hear it, it scares him too. Lucifer cannot allow himself to let Tsuki die again, it pains him more than anything else. When he found them fighting with those two demons, he thought the human had a death wish and was trying to give their life away, thankfully he was wrong. But the scene still made him break a cold sweat. Satan’s rage also didn’t help. “I don’t want you to get triggered by them again,” he adds, when he realizes Tsuki doesn’t seem happy, “don’t overthink it.”

“Easier to say than do! It wasn’t you who  _ died _ !” they yell angrily.

“You didn’t  _ die _ , you are right here, with me, with  _ us _ ,” Lucifer insists, very emphatically.

“Well, I  _ almost _ died! I was able to talk with your  _ dead _ sister! The root of all problems of this dysfunctional family of demons that I am  _ sick _ of trying to help!”

Lucifer opens his mouth but decides against what he was going to say. They have a point.

The demon groans, frustrated. He takes his hands to his face, desperately trying to calm down. ‘ _ Don’t snap at Tsuki. _ ’

“Ok,” he says, taking another deep breath. “I thank you for your help, but you already did enough. No need to do anything else about our business, don’t stress over it anymore,” he says seriously. “So, do you have any idea of how to deal with  _ your _ issues, then?”

Tsuki is at a loss for words. They fidget a little, looking everywhere but at Lucifer.

“Uh… Does the Devildom have psychologists? Therapists?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Well, this explains a lot! I’m out of ideas too,” they laugh. They  _ dare _ to laugh. Lucifer is so close to… “Sorry.” They look down. “I keep making things hard for you. I don’t want to be a bother but I’m pretty lost here. I guess it’s one of those things that gets better with time. Maybe I need to forgive Belphie…”

There’s a lot to unpack here.

“Stop saying you’re a bother. Just  _ stop _ it,” Lucifer begs. Hearing how Tsuki thinks so little of themselves always sets his heart aching. He hears a muffed 'sorry' and decides to face the human again, but they are still looking at the ground. ‘ _ To Hell with it.’ _ Lucifer gets up and kneels before them. Tsuki starts freaking out for some reason, but Lucifer brings a finger to their mouth, shutting them. “Listen to me now, ok?” They nod. Good. He retracts his finger. “I appreciate you trying to not bother me, I really do, but my brothers already bother me all the time and honestly, you’re valid, your feelings and troubles are valid, so you  _ can _ bother me. I don’t mind.  _ Bother me,  _ you have my permission.” He stops for a second, to see if they are still paying attention. Their brown eyes are focused on his behind the glasses. Great. If they only  _ asked _ for help, they wouldn’t have so many problems  _ (‘oh, just like me,’ _ Lucifer thinks sadly). 

Now the other point. He can’t put all the blame on Belphie because it’s  _ his _ fault too, but he still gave him a few hours long lecture about the physical damage he gave Tsuki. Apparently, his younger brother is in need of  _ another _ lecture, this time about Tsuki's mental state. “We can still sleep together, to see if it eases the nightmares or not, and even if it doesn’t work, we can figure out something else. If you think you should forgive Belphie, that’s great, but do  _ not _ force yourself to do it. Whatever you choose it’s your choice and yours only and we’ll respect it. So, don’t be afraid to do as you wish. As long it’s not hiding that you’re having problems or attacking demons to release your stress!” His words get a bit heavy with anger at the end, but the sentiment is delivered. He’s not really angry, just very worried, just like a few days ago, when they talked in the kitchen. Hopefully Tsuki can tell the difference now.

They start blinking fast all of a sudden; their eyes must be starting to get watery again. Lucifer braces himself, but the crying he expects never comes.

“Thank you.” Their voice is low, just above a whisper. Something inside of him is aching again, as if someone had started squeezing his heart. They sound so broken, and Lucifer can only see tiredness in those deep brown eyes. He sends the same hand that he used to shut them to caress their face, over the purple remainder of his bruise. Lucifer had applied a little bit of healing magic there to make it heal faster, but the skin is still dark, so he tries to rub some more magic again. He just wants to ease their pain, even if it means taking it to himself, that’s ok, he’s used to holding a lot of pain.

He fondles their cheeks and Tsuki closes their eyes, learning into his touch. His heart skips a beat. Ah, they are so beautiful, he wants them to always be able to shine bright even in the darkness, just like the moon. It looks like Tsuki is also into his touch, because they suddenly kneel too, hugging Lucifer tight. This human never ceases surprising him. He hugs them back and they keep in this position for a while. He can hear the sound of their heart beating fast and the smell of their shampoo. Lucifer hears a sob after a minute and starts gently rubbing circles on their back. Their sobs never transform into crying, thankfully. After some more time, Tsuki relaxes into the embrace and sighs deeply.

“I’m so tired, Lucifer.” He nods. He knows. “Can we go to your room?”

Only he knows how much he wants to say yes right now. But he wants them to be healthy too.

“Actually, I bought some snacks that I was hoping to eat with you.”

Tsuki giggles, the low vibration of their voice against his skin sends a shiver down his spine.

“What are you? Beel?”

“Beel also thinks you should eat more,” he says instead.

They hum for a moment, considering it, maybe. Tsuki pulls away and nods, so they both get up to eat something, and because their knees must be hurting. The conversation afterward is a lot calmer.

Lucifer still attempts doing  _ some _ work before dinner. He picks the easier paperwork, the ones that just need his signature. He signs a lot of papers in record speed until he hears his D.D.D. ring. It’s Tsuki, calling them to have dinner. Well, work’s over now. They had agreed they both desperately needed a good night of sleep, so they decided to go straight to bed after dinner. Lucifer makes a hand movement and all papers go flying to their respective places.

Before Lucifer can go back to his room for the night, Mammon stops him in the hallway. He seems a bit down, looking to the side and hesitating.

“Yes, Mammon?” he acknowledges his younger brother's presence.

“I was just thinking…” he starts, but trails off right after, getting lost in thoughts instead of talking about what’s in his head. Lucifer gives him a minute, but he remains quiet.

“Can you just go straight to the point, Mammon? I kind of have a lot on my mind right now,” he asks, politely.

“Figures. Sorry to bother you then.” His brother turns to leave in a sudden burst of irritation, but Lucifer holds his shoulder.

“Wait, Mammon, I didn’t mean like that. Just tell me what’s troubling you,” Lucifer rephases quickly, still very polite.

He looks at Lucifer, then at the ground, and starts to fidget around.

“’S about Tsuki…”

Another beat of silence.

“Yes?”

“I’m worried about them.” ‘ _ Welcome to the club,’ _ he thinks unhappily. “I know Tsuki is very strong and all, but aren’t they being a bit too casual about…y’know? I can’t shake the feeling they are hiding how they really feel, because even I…” His expression gets heavy with melancholy. “Sometimes, I can still see it,  _ feel _ it, their...”

“ _ I know _ ,” he cuts him off, not wanting to hear those words. “I can see it too when I close my eyes to sleep at night.” Mammon looks startled at him. “And no, they are  _ not _ doing well about it at all. Tsuki is very good at hiding how they really feel about some things. In fact, they will start sleeping in my room today.”

“Wh-what? Why?” He can sense both jealousy and anger from him.

“They are having nightmares about it. It’s very real, according to them.” Mammon just stares at him for a minute. Lucifer can almost see the gears turning slowing in his head. “I just want to try to help them sleep easier, but I’ll need your and the others’ help too,” Lucifer continues.

“Woah, seriously?”

“Obviously, I can’t watch their  _ every _ move,” he sighs. Theoretically he can, but not in this sense. “I need you and our other brothers to try to keep Tsuki happy and distracted, as long as you can, so they won’t be thinking about what happened on that day. Be sure to tell the others this, ok? But don’t let Tsuki know. They may figure it out sooner or later anyway.”

Mammon is still taken aback for a second, but he smiles and nods after a few seconds.

“Yes, sir! I promise we’ll be good gentlemen to Tsuki to ease their pain!”

“Good. I’m counting on you.”

“R-Really?” Mammon eyes shine, moved with Lucifer’s trust. He could even burst into tears any moment. Lucifer nods and Mammon processes to excitedly tell him in five different ways that he’ll take good care of Tsuki. Lucifer nods patiently to Mammon’s every word. Everyone has been acting a bit over the edge even since that day and Lucifer can’t stand seeing his family so down anymore. He wants everything to go back to normal, as soon as possible.

When Mammon finally waves him goodnight, now in livelier spirits, Lucifer sees the human staring at them both from the other end of the hallway, in front of their room door. They look both tired and anxious. He sighs yet again. Tomorrow is going to be another long day, he knows it.

The night is a lot better than yesterday’s. Lucifer sleeps well for a long time. In the middle of the night, when it’s still terribly dark and he can’t see much, he hears a soft sob. His eyes fly open and he looks for Tsuki. The human is crying quietly while holding his arm with both hands in a tight grip. For a moment he’s sure they didn’t notice he’s awake now. He stares for a minute, weighing his options. He moves, bringing them closer to him and passing an arm around their body. Tsuki stiffens for a moment, surprised, probably, before relaxing into the embrace. Lucifer kisses their forehead and remains silent, afraid he could come off as too harsh if he speaks. Tsuki keeps sobbing for a bit. At some point, when Lucifer is staring at the darkness of his room, he can’t hear a thing anymore. He looks down, back at the human, now sleeping calmly. He feels himself relax too.

The incessant ringing of an alarm wakes Lucifer up. Groaning, he moves and taps at random on his nightstand until he finds his D.D.D. to turn it off. He looks at the time and day and almost curses.

“There’s RAD today?” Tsuki groggy asks. They hide themselves under a blanket, leaving only the top part of their fading blond hair visible. The brown of their hair roots is showing.

“No. I forgot to turn off my alarm,” he says, displeased at himself.

“I can’t believe you woke up both of us so early for no reason,” Tsuki angrily comments. ‘ _ Well, I was so worried about someone I forgot about it _ ,’ Lucifer clicks his tongue, trying to not say it out loud. “What time is it?” they ask after a beat of silence.

“Nine.”

Lucifer gets comfortable back in bed, in the middle of his pillows. Maybe he should try to sleep a little longer. Then, some sound reaches his ears.

“ _ ’Cause it's nine in the afternoon _ ~” he hears a soft tune followed by a giggle. “ _ And your eyes are the size of the moon. You could 'cause you can so you do _ ~” is Tsuki…  _ singing _ ?

Curious, Lucifer pulls the covers hiding them down, and Tsuki looks like they were caught doing something wrong. The demon stares at them with a puzzled expression on his face and an unspoken question.

“It’s a song,” they say quietly. “ _ Back to the street, back to the place. Back to the room where it all began _ …” they sing another part, followed by some more humming. Lucifer never listened to this song before, after all, it’s human music. Tsuki looks a lot better today and their singing voice is very cute.

“I assume that you slept better today.”

“Ah.” They seem surprised at it. “Yeah. I had some nightmare and when I woke up, I freaked out because I thought it wasn’t going to work this time…” Tsuki looks away for a second. “But after falling asleep again, I didn’t dream anymore. I feel rested for the first time in a week,” they giggle happily. 

“That’s good then, I slept well too. You could have woken me up at night, you know?”

“I know now…” They are still not looking at him. He kind of wished he had waited a bit longer to talk about last night so he could have listened to them singing for a little longer. Would Tsuki take it badly if he asks them to sing more?

They stay in the bed for a while longer. Lucifer actually feels rested for once too, since he went to sleep earlier yesterday, from his standards. Tsuki rolls around in bed. He can still hear some humming, it sounds like it’s still the same song. They are also well rested—such a relief. He rolls closer to them. Tsuki is watching the ceiling, lying lazily, their wild hair going in all directions, blond mixed with brown. Lucifer doesn’t know how their hair doesn't fall off from all the dyeing they do in such a small time period. They must be still very traumatized by the recent events, because they have been slacking more than usual. They would fool around with Asmo or go out with him at least one per week, but the only thing they have done is keep themselves inside their room. Lucifer is confident they didn’t actually cook once this past week, and they like to cook, which is one of the few things they are very proud about. They never let their hair be neglected before either. Lucifer doesn’t want to see the human this down— depressed even— anymore. He would rather have a lively Tsuki that annoys the Hell out of him than a moping one.

They are still looking fixed ahead, lost in thoughts, and Lucifer decides to ruffle their (already messed) hair. It’s surprisingly soft. Tsuki turns slightly when they register Lucifer’s gentle hand on their hair and stares at him from the corner of their eyes, but doesn't seem to mind the touch. Some impulse awakens inside of the demon that allows him to act boldly. In a fluid movement, he rolls and gets on top of Tsuki, putting hands on either side of their head and a leg between theirs. The human only blinks at him, mildly confused.

“Say, you never got worried something could happen when you came to sleep here?” he finally asks. He wanted to ask it a long time ago but never managed to. Never seemed like the right place or time. Not like  _ right now _ is any better.

Lucifer has a lot of self-control, he is very well praised and confident about his high self-control, but this small human… Tsuki tempts him in more ways than Lucifer can admit. The demon is starting to be afraid he can’t hold himself close to them for much longer.

“Should I?” Of course, Tsuki would give him a smart answer. Unfortunately, he wants to hear their actual thoughts so he keeps himself still, staring right into their eyes, waiting to see if he needs to press them more or if they’ll answer of their own will. “Ok,” they seem to give up, “I admit I was concerned when I first slept here, but since you never did anything to me, I’m not afraid. In fact, I even like…” Tsuki stops suddenly, cursing under their breath before continuing, “sleeping here.”

Oh well, that’s  _ really _ nice to know. Lucifer can’t help but smirk, feeling this good mood will last for the whole day. He lowers himself, getting even closer to the human. They keep staring at him without much emotion. They must trust Lucifer a lot…unfortunately for Tsuki, Lucifer is not trusting himself right now. Just  _ one more _ teasing and he will let them go, he thinks. He hopes. Before he crosses a line.

“So, what if I did something you dislike? What would you do?” He’s dying to know. But at the same time, he needs to stop himself, the consequences of a misstep could be dire.

Tsuki keeps staring for one more moment, until their expression twists in annoyance, their eyes squint, he can tell the human’s patience for Lucifer’s actions is running out. They don’t have much patience to begin within.

“Well, I think you would  _ regret _ it.”

‘ _ By all the Seven Rules of Hell, I may actually love you _ .’

Lucifer's smile grows bigger, feeling so many emotions right now. Tsuki is amazing, the sheer confidence they have to say such a thing deserves some respect. The human can evoke many things inside of Lucifer; they test his patience, anger him, mock him, tease him, but they also make him feel like he can do better, be better, kinder. Lucifer feels so weak against this human. They are so genuine, nice (behind their strong and rude façade) and  _ kind _ . To the point of fighting and sacrificing themselves for others. Lucifer was sure they were careless with their own life, but now he changed his mind. Maybe Tsuki is just…a good-hearted person. Such a wild concept for a demon as sadistic and old as Lucifer. He never knew he could love someone this much. It’s different from what he feels for his brothers too. The overprotectiveness and worry are there, but there’s something else too, some  _ desire _ , and selfishness.

His whole body falls onto the human at once, making them yell shortly in surprise. He made sure to  _ not _ let all his weight on them since their body is still healing from the fight. The demon’s heart is beating faster with excitement and anxiety as he rubs his face to the crook of their neck before kissing it. Tsuki gasps and trembles under him, but now that he tasted the skin he can’t stop. Lucifer keeps on giving hungry kisses along their neck, going all the way up to their ear. They certainly choose a good day to be wearing pajamas with long sleeves (‘ _ So much useless cloth. _ ’). It has some cute cat stamp, it was probably Satan who got it for them.

He’s positive there’s a hand pulling his hair and another on his silk robe, but he ignores both. He stops only after biting and then kissing the ear, when he can hear some soft panting. Tsuki is with their eyes closed and cheeks red. He can say many things, several cross his head, but he chooses the  _ worst  _ of them all.

“So, are you enjoying this?”

Their eyes open at once. There is a millisecond of hesitation, when he can tell Tsuki flinched by pure shock. He lets his body go slack, waiting for anything and everything. He wants to know their reaction. Tsuki turns, flipping Lucifer so they are over him now. He must admit the human is a bit stronger than what he expected. He sees them raise a hand. A punch, obvious, yes, he expected that, a violent reaction in all ways. What he didn’t expect was that Tsuki chose to punch his face.

“You are the  _ WORST _ , Lucifer!” They scream angrily after punching him right in his nose. Who taught this kid how to fight? They are a little monster, didn’t even hesitate before going for the nose, damn. Lucifer’s so proud, he likes someone that knows how to fight (even if their fight choices are questionable). Lucifer actually got shocked at the amount of damage they were able to do to that demon, even with the pact powers, that was impressive. However, they are not using any powers now, so his nose barely registers the impact. Lucifer holds onto the wish to laugh and stares at Tsuki. Are they blushing because of the kisses or because they are mad? “I do NOT like being teased!” they add, screaming again.

_ ‘But you sure like teasing others, brat.’ _

Lucifer can’t remember the last time someone dared to punch him. Tsuki looks so serious too. Almost scary. Damn, he was right, he knew this physical approach would end like this and he still did it. Tsuki shakes his shoulder and growls above him. Oh, they are expecting a reaction. Still so very mad. Lucifer simply can’t hold it anymore, he starts laughing, a genuine and free laugh. He can’t recall the last time he laughed.

“WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?!” Tsuki angrily screams, but it only makes him laugh more into the bed. His stomach starts hurting and tears are escaping from his closed eyes. For a full minute he can only hear his uncontrolled laughs.

“Wow, you are really laughing,” he can feel Tsuki tapping his shoulder, as if they are unsure if what they are seeing is real or not. “I didn’t know you  _ could _ laugh.” He snorted loudly at that, can’t blame them. Lucifer didn’t know  _ he _ could laugh this much either.

Slowly, Lucifer’s laugh dies out. He’s positive that he never actually laughed this much before in his life. Oh, the powers of this human. He cleans away the tears and tries to take a look at Tsuki, who seems both amazed and mildly irritated.

“So, do you want to tell me anything to defend yourself?” Their cheeks are still a bit red, and are honestly cute. “Pretty sure this is considered sexual assault.”

_ ‘Pff, sexual assault. They don’t know what sexual assault by a demon really is.’ _

“You are so cute, I couldn’t help myself,” he breathes, still feeling dazed.

“Bye.”

Tsuki moves to leave. Ah, he pushed his luck too far.

Lucifer gets up in one quick movement and grabs Tsuki’s arm before they can leave the bed. The good arm.

“Let go of me,” they bark, already trying to break free.

“Wait, please,” he asks, as humbly as possible, “I didn’t want to upset you.”

“Well, I guess it’s too late now!” They are still  _ so _ annoyed. He wants to laugh again but sets on a smile. “Let me go or I will…” They think for a moment. “I’ll bite your arm off.”

“I’ll let you bite other places too.” Was that even supposed to be a warning? They are so cute! Honestly, this human is amazing, everything they do is amazing. Even making Lucifer pissed off in less than two seconds (faster than Mammon!) is amazing.

Tsuki gasps, the annoyed expression merging with shock and some embarrassment, he thinks? Tsuki looks at Lucifer’s body before making a comeback. Their eyes travel down for a moment before they snap back to his face. Curious, Lucifer looks down at himself too. Last night he decided to sleep only in his striped purple and black silk robe and boxers. The robe, which closes at his waist, is now a little open. It shows his toned and flawless chest, barely keeping itself on his shoulders.  _ Oh _ . Evil thoughts fly around inside his head.

Lucifer guides Tsuki’s hand and puts it on the middle of his chest, making them shriek and turn as red as a tomato. Their embarrassed reaction is  _ adorable _ .

“I can let you bite here too.” He can’t stop smirking. This is so fun.

Tsuki’s brain must be short circuiting. They open and close their mouth several times, but nothing but a few grunts leave them. Lucifer’s positive he never saw a human so red before (unless it was covered in blood); they must be a virgin. They are acting like one.

“I, I…” they try to speak, but keep stuttering. “… am an asexual! Th-this won’t w-work on me!” Tsuki tries to say confidently, but it didn’t come off as that. It’s more like a pathetic attempt to show they are ok when they are in shambles. What’s an ‘asexual’ anyway? Lucifer should research this human term to know what exactly they claim to be. 

“Really? Because I think it’s already working.”

Their brows furrow again.

“Let. Me.  _ Go _ .”

Lucifer sighs. Alright, fine. He had his fun. He should let Tsuki go before he does something he’ll regret. He opens his hands, releasing Tsuki’s arm while they are still trying to pull. It makes Tsuki lose their balance and start falling back. Lucifer’s eyes widen; they are going to fall off the bed. His demonic powers kick in and he’s able to hold them back and pull them closer. Now, falling off the bed isn’t that bad, but since Tsuki is so clumsy and has the worst luck a human can possibly have, Lucifer is afraid of them tripping and some sort of catastrophe happening. With Tsuki pressed against his chest he can feel the way their heart is beating wildly. Lucifer sighs deeply, trying to calm down. He should clear up things with Tsuki before letting them leave.

“Sorry for teasing you so much today,” he starts, voice low, close to their ear, “I am really happy you’re feeling better. Ever since the Belphie incident, I have been really worried about you, Tsuki, please trust me. I hated seeing you in so much pain yesterday, all I wish is for your happiness. So, whatever you need, you can ask me and I’ll try to help you as much as I can.”

There is a silence hanging around the room for a minute, while Tsuki seems to consider Lucifer’s words. He is being as sincere as he can, since this human  _ loves _ doubting him, and he needs to spell everything out to them. Showing affection is not something Lucifer is used to doing, but with Tsuki he feels like he needs to. Both because it makes them trust him more and because Lucifer is just finding out he doesn’t mind it too much. Tsuki moves from their close embrace and looks up at Lucifer. He moves back slightly and looks down at them, meeting their eyes. They have a cute and shy expression, still blushing, weakly holding his slipping robe while Lucifer keeps his hand firm on their waist. For a moment they only look at each other.

“Thank you, Lucifer,” Tsuki smiles.

They move closer and plant a kiss on Lucifer’s cheek, a bit too close to his mouth. The demon is pretty sure his heart stopped in that moment, when he felt Tsuki’s soft lips kissing his skin. The feeling doesn’t linger there for long, sadly. They pull away, getting redder again, and look away with a shy smile. ‘ _ Ah, so cute, so precious. An angel. An actual angel disguised as a human that came to bless my life. _ ’

“Ah,” they exclaim suddenly, “I want to help you too, do you think I can possibly help you with your work? In some way? I don’t mind. And Satan is currently doing all my homework.” They smile, happy not having to do the last homework of the semester.

‘ _ An angel. _ ’

“I think so. Come to my study after eating,” he says, agreeing to the wonderful idea. More time to spend with Tsuki.

“Ok,” Tsuki nods and Lucifer lets them go away.

The human stops by the nightstand to get their D.D.D.. When they look back at Lucifer, still sitting lazily on his bed contemplating all the work he needs to address today, they blush furiously yet again. Quickly, they are at the door, open it, but hesitate for a second. Lucifer raises a brow, curious. He’s about to ask what their problem is now, when they suddenly turn, a devilish smile on their face.

“You should take care of your ‘morning problem’ before I come back from breakfast. Or things will be awkward.” Tsuki winks and laughs before closing the door behind them with more force than necessary.

_ ‘Aah _ .’

Lucifer doesn't want to look down. He knows exactly what they meant. How did it even happen?  _ When _ had it happened? Still, against his better judgement, he does look down and fix his robe. There’s a bulge on his black boxers, peeking outside his messy robe.

_ ‘A demon! An evil demon disguised as a human that has come to my life only to curse me! This is what that damned human is!’ _

His own conflicting thoughts make him laugh. A cold bath is on his way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This may be my favorite chapter ;o;  
> The second song Tsuki sings is Nine in the Afternoon by Panic! At the Disco, which was the original title of this chapter.


	5. Stupid for You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this house we drink Love and Respect Leviathan juice B) This chapter was purely based on my love for Leviathan, whom I think didn't get his deserved focus in my own fic. Also, since the game won’t give me lore, I make my own lore!  
> Stupid for You by Waterparks

**Chapter 5 – Stupid for You**

For the time being you have given up on trying to solve this impossible puzzle that is “is Lucifer in love with me or does he just like messing with me?” The answer seems to change every day.

After that disastrous morning (‘ _ he had a fucking boner! What the Hell _ ’) you decide you want to tease him too, so you take the shortest pair of shorts you own and a simple tank top to use when you go to his study to help with his work. You almost go back to change when Asmo compliments the way your skin is getting better in the hallway. Bracing yourself, you go like this to the damn study, and Lucifer fucking stutters and coughs when he sees you. So worth it. You end up sitting beside him and organizing the papers. Apparently, it’s all diplomatic and official paperwork. Lucifer has to answer to…whatever these claims and reports are, and send them back. You help separate and put away the reports that are done and hand whatever Lucifer needs to him. It’s pretty simple, the amount of reading he has to do is probably what makes it so long and tiresome. Why doesn't he have a computer too? Wouldn’t it be easier to send them back via email? But considering how old-fashioned Lucifer is, he may be the only one who insists on using paper. He does love candles as well. You are surprised he doesn’t use a feather and ink pen… He totally owns some feathers and ink pens, right?

Sometimes you brush Lucifer’s hands or cause some other light touch. Those instances always seem to electrify your body, stirring those ‘butterflies in the stomach’ to a violent frenzy. One time, Lucifer even caught you smiling after he had bumped into your arm. You turn away, face burning, while he chuckles under his breath. So embarrassing. This crush will kill you…

“I’m glad to see your bruises are a lot better now. You should use clothes that show your skin more often, Tsuki,” Lucifer says when you’re about to leave. “You look good.”

Though you’re blushing hard, you manage to smirk.

“Really? Ok, I will. When  _ you _ start using clothes that show  _ your _ skin too.”

Lucifer’s eyes widen for a second before he shows you an angry smile.

“Aren’t you a sly human,” he mutters.

You leave the study cackling. All in all, it was a calm day. At night, you have some bad dreams, but it also seems like sleeping with Lucifer helped your subconscious to be more at ease. You do feel safer here.

“So, which color will you be dyeing your hair next?” Asmo asks cheerfully next to you. This hair really is looking awful. You want to cut it and hide the brown roots; they are too noticeable now. “Oh, I know, why don’t you change it back to your natural color? I’m kind of curious to see it.”

“It’s just a boring brown,” you comment, lost in thoughts.

It’s been a few days since you started sleeping with Lucifer every night, and some nights are better than others. You still feel like you should start getting along with Belphie, since maybe if you befriend him you can get over this trauma easier. Maybe. Worth a shot. You just need to think about  _ how  _ to do it. Every time you’re in the same room as him you feel uneasy. His brothers aren’t helping either. You feel like their clinginess has skyrocketed; they legit do not let you alone for five minutes, how can you think of a plan if they never give you time and space to think? You can feel your patience running out. Next time they fight over your attention you may snap for real and lock yourself in your room again.

“But no one at home has brown hair,” Asmo says. You are both coming back from RAD after a calm day of studying. Levi ditched you today and did his homework and activities online. You just found out he can do part of his classes virtually. Why didn’t the demons think of it for you? Oh wait, that’s right, the demons are supposed to resist eating you and all that shit, so you have to attend the classes in person. Just your luck, as always.

“Then paint yours.”

“No way! My hair color is perfect!”

You laugh at his desperation.

“I’m thinking of leaving it full blond this time.” Boring parents never let you do anything fun. As soon as you had left for college and started living in the dorm, you got the piercings you always wanted and started dyeing your hair. The sweet taste of freedom. Very few times you dyed it back to brown. For now, you’d grown used to the dark blond shade. Does Lucifer like this hair color on you…? Since you got here you only changed the highlights a few times, all work done by Asmo. They were pink, purple, red, blue and yellow. Now it’s all faded. You should have dyed it again around the time Belphie got free. It’s been almost two weeks now and you haven’t felt like working on your appearance since then. But now the hair is bothering you.

“I think it would suit you,” the demon agrees, “though the pink highlights were still my favorite. Want to go shopping tomorrow? We can pick some pretty shade of blond for you.”

“Sure.”

The house of lamentation is just ahead. Today both Asmo and Mammon are leaving for a fancy party at Majolish, for the new collection celebration. The brand has invited some of their most popular models, the brothers included. Asmo and Mammon don’t have a pretty good relationship, but they wouldn’t fight in such a public event. Or at least you hope so.

Beel has been clinging to Belphie since he got free, understandably. Since Belphie was forced to go back to RAD immediately, he has a lot of work to compensate for the six months he lost. So today, the twins and Satan will be studying until late at the RAD library. Lucifer will probably come home late as usual thanks to the council work, which means only you and Levi will be at home.  _ ‘Finally, a calming evening. _ ’

Before Asmo can drag you to help him get dressed, you try to complete today’s homework. Luckily since the major exams passed and there’s a small break next week, the number of assignments has been dying out more day after day. You manage to finish just before Asmo calls you to see his and Mammon’s outfits before they leave.

The brothers are already at the entrance hall and Asmo looks absolutely  _ sinful _ . There’s no other word. He has a black leather skirt and matching boots, fishnet socks and a loose pink shirt that exposes his neck and shoulders. Pinkish gloves cover his hands and silver jewelry is all over him. Looks like he put a ton of makeup on his face, but he looks beautiful. Hair is the same as always but glowing, probably thanks to some hair product. Mammon isn’t losing; the greed demon is using a two-piece suit with matching white pants, coat and white shoes. He has on a black button-up shirt with the top two buttons open and dark shade glasses. His hair is styled to the side with gel. He also has a golden chain on his waist and golden earrings. All clothes are rented from the latest Majolish collection, obviously.

“Tsuki! What do you think?” Asmo turns around, showing himself proudly.

“You can’t say the Great Mammon isn’t looking like the hottest guy in the whole Devildom,” the greed demon praises himself.

“I have to admit, you both are stunning! I love the outfits! They fit you two so well.”

Both demons are taken aback. You don’t normally compliment them. Levi, Beel and Satan, however…  _ ‘I have no favorites,’ _ you say, then flat out favorize those three. Lucifer is his own tier, which is constantly in flux, and Belphie is currently rock bottom.

“Hahaha, I knew Tsuki couldn’t resist this outfit!” Asmo laughs, happy with himself.

“The Great Mammon thanks Tsuki honestly. Now.” He gets close and shows you a card in his hand. Smiling brightly he says, “I could easily put you inside the party as well. I have an extra invite.”

“Thanks Mammon, but I really don’t like those types of events.”

You must be having some blessed day, because Asmo comes to the rescue and pulls Mammon away, dragging him towards the door.

“Yes, Mammon, I tried to invite Tsuki too, but they are too much of an introvert to go. If they don’t want to go, they don’t want to. Leave them be,” Asmo says, in a bored tone. “They must be  _ dying _ to join Levi in some game competition or something like that.”

“Cleary, you can’t be excited to spend the whole night with Levi!” Mammon says, irritated and jealous as usual, stopping by the open door.

“Actually, I am!” Your good mood makes the demons blink, surprised. “The new game we bought came by mail today and Levi is waiting for me so we can start playing!”

There’s a beat of silence and hesitation, the two extroverts not believing that you’d rather play games with the otaku brother than go to a party. As if, even after six months, they don’t know you.

“See, they are more excited about games,” Asmo continues to say in his emotionless way, “now come on, Mammon, I called a taxi for us.”

Mammon keeps grunting while being dragged away by Asmo. You wave at them from the front door.

“Have a great event!” you yell at them. Asmo and Mammon smile and wave you goodbye before they enter the taxi.

As soon as the taxi disappears from your vision, you lock the door and rush to Levi’s room, entering it without saying the password. It’s a waste of time anyway.

“Are the normies gone?” Levi asks as soon as you’re inside his room.

“Yes! We are alone and free to play!” you announce.

“Oooh! Sweet, let’s have some fun!”

He high-fives you before getting the new game and setting it for co-op. It’s a rather hard dungeon-based game that you both are excited to play.

The hours go by and the game is indeed pretty hard, even with the co-op. The fourth dungeon is tricky but the two of you manage to beat it after struggling a bit. However, the boss is truly hell. After almost an hour of being stuck, the game isn’t feeling very fun anymore.

“Urg, because the game released today there isn’t a playthrough for this boss yet…” Levi laments, looking at his D.D.D. and tapping frantically on it.

“Maybe we should take a break before I throw my joystick into the wall,” you suggest, doing some mindless grinding while Levi tries to find a way through the boss on the internet.

“Yeah. I’ll go ahead and make a post on the forum asking for hints. We can check tomorrow and resume gaming when we have a better strategy.”

You nod and save the game, then move to close it and pull away. You had some fun while it lasted. Levi joins you on the ground, still tapping his D.D.D.. Ah, now you feel bored. Lucifer will come home any minute now and neither of you even touched the pans and stove. There are a lot of junk food packages discarded on the room’s floor, however. Getting your D.D.D. you send Lucifer a text, asking if he can bring takeout. Lucifer takes a few minutes to reply and when the ding finally sounds you assume it’s a hard 'No.' To your immense surprise, the avatar of pride has accepted. Oh, a lucky day? Finally? God finally feels pity over your miserable existence?

“Levi, Levi.” You tap him on the arm. “We hit the jackpot, Levi! Lucifer will bring takeout for us!”

“Woah, really?! Awesome! Now we don’t need to cook, hehe,” he laughs happily. “Oh, tell him to bring sushi!”

You nod excitedly and text back Lucifer; he agrees to bring the sushi. Levi and you celebrate for a while. Until the boredom makes a comeback. Levi walks through his collection of DVDs and makes a lot of suggestions, but you don’t feel like watching anime.

“I kind of want to do something different,” you comment, mind wandering.

“Different how?”

“Dunno…” You swap around chats on your D.D.D.. Asmo and Mammon are spamming you with photos. Are they even enjoying the event? Every ten minutes one of them sends you something. Mammon shows off popular models and some friends from Majolish while Asmo spams you with new clothes, asking what you would like more. While you write your compliments on Mammon’s newest photos, you accidently come across a rather interesting photo that makes you grin. “Hey Levi, take a look at this photo I bought from Mammon.”

Levi bends down until he can look at the photo on your D.D.D.. His face goes all red when he realizes it’s the photo Mammon took of him with only a towel after he finished his bath.

“AAAAAAAA,” he screams. “Delete it! I thought we were best friends, Tsuki! How dare you  _ buy _ this photo!”

The laughs break away from you easily. Mammon gave you a discount for the photo and you want to print it and hang it on your wall.

“I didn’t know Leviathan has a six pack~” you sing, smiling. He becomes even more embarrassed. “I think you are very cute but you also have a damn good body, fam?!” He shrieks. “The weebs should knee before you! As you have the chest most can only dream off~”

“Please stop!” he cries, covering his face with his hands.

You lose your smile. Levi looks very upset now. Leaving the D.D.D. behind you walk to Levi and carefully touch his forearm.

“AH! Levi got touched!” He squirms and you retract your hand instinctively.

“Levi, listen to me,” you say seriously. He actually stops moving around and looks at you now with one visible eye, the other covered by his hand. “I am, legit, complimenting you. I think you are beautiful, inside and out.”

“Ew… but I’m a yuck otaku with no IRL friends that locks himself in his room all day and night…”

“I don’t care, I  _ like _ you, why is it so hard to understand? Wait, did you just say you have no friends?! What the Hell am  _ I _ then?! Your number one fan?” you yell until you realize that isn’t a bad idea. “Actually, can I be your number one fan?”

“Eh? You’re for real?” You nod. Levi tears up. “Aww, Tsuki is such an angel to me! What did I do to deserve you?” he whines, “Sorry, of course we are friends!” he yells, angrily clearing tears away from his face. “And you want to be my number one fan?!”

“Not only your fan, I’ll also be the founder and president of the Leviathan Fan Club and I’ll fight your Six Evil Demon Brothers so they can start respecting you.”

Levi looks like he’s about to pass out from everything he’s feeling.

“Aww, I never want to touch 3D people, but can I hug you?” Your arms open, giving him all the permission, he needs. Levi tears up again and jumps in your arms, almost knocking you over to the ground. “Tsukiiiii~!”

You hug Levi tight and pat his back and his head. He’s an ugly crier, he sobs loudly and dampens your shirt. The avatar of envy says a lot of gibberish that you can’t understand but is probably apologies. Maybe now he will actually start believing your words. Levi recomposes himself rather quickly, or it’s his social anxiety that makes him break free from your hugs. He clears his face with a tissue he gets from a drawer and you stay quiet next to him for a few minutes, waiting for him to calm down.

“By the way,” you start calmly and slowly, trying not to scare him anymore, “how do you even have this many muscles? Like, hot damn, Levi, you have a nice body.” Levi goes very red again but doesn't have a mental breakdown. “You stay the whole day inside your room! I don’t get it. Is a demon's metabolism that different?”

“Oh, it’s probably from all the swimming I do in my pool,” he answers simply, still a bit embarrassed from your latest compliment on his body.

You blink, feeling like your brain is lagging.

“Excuse me,  _ what _ ? What did you just say?”

Levi blinks, confused as well.

“It’s from swimming in my pool?”

“You have a POOL?! This house has a  _ pool _ ?” Your loud voice startles Levi, making him flinch. The disdain you feel really is unreal. Does this house have everything?! It has a common room, library, planetarium, music room, garden, a forest, a fucking graveyard and underground tomb and a magically sealed away room that belonged to the dead sister.

“Uh, yes. It’s under my room. I dehydrate too easily so I need to constantly wet myself, I am an aquatic demon anyway. Oh, but only I can open the access to the pool. It’s sealed with magic.”

Well, that explains a lot.

“Levi, why have you never told me this before? I love swimming.” You are feeling so angry and stupid for never knowing it.

“Eh? But I didn’t know you liked swimming.”

‘ _ Do I have to tell all of them all my likes, dislikes, interests and whole life story?! _ ’ you think, angrily. But then, sigh deep. That isn’t important anymore.

“I want to see it,” you say as excitedly as possible, “take me to your pool, Levi!”

Levi stares at you quietly. He seems a bit taken aback from your sudden excitement. He nods anyway and goes behind his bathtub that is also his bed. The floor glows and a stairway appears in the ground. You follow Levi into it. After a few steps you can see it, a massive blue pool in a wide room. An olympic sized pool. The air is very humid here and it smells like the sea. The majority of the walls are blue, with sea paintings of corals and other animals and colorful algae. Some sea shells and skeletons of sea creatures adorn the walls, along with small light bulbs making sea animal shapes, in blue as well. On the ceiling, there are big and bright light bulbs, half white and half in a soft blue. Levi really likes blue. You pass by Levi and check the water. It’s freezing cold and very clear. You wonder how he even cleans it. Magic? The pool looks very deep too, you can’t tell where it ends.

“Wow, this place is amazing. Is this sea water?”

“It is,” Levi smiles. “I can summon some sea creatures too, if you want. I normally do it so I have some company.”

“Ah…I really want to but I’m also afraid?” You don’t know if you want to risk swimming with sea monsters from hell, and remembering some stories about Levi and his sea ‘friends,’ they are all big monsters. Levi goes pensive for a moment.

“Oh! How about only small fishes and eel? Harmless animals,” Levi suggests.

“Perfect! Oh my, I’m so excited to swim again, you have no idea, Levi!” You wish you had some sort of swimsuit here but this old sweatshirt and sweatpants can handle some salt water.

Taking off your shoes, you set your D.D.D. along with them on the border. You see no stairs so, looks like you’ll have to jump into the water anyway.

“Wait, are you going to swim like this?” Levi gets alarmed.

“Well, I have no clothes for it and I’m not striping.”

Levi gasps and goes red at the mention of ‘striping.’ He yells when you put a foot into the water. The demon warns you the water could be too cold for a human so he says to wait for him to warm the water.  _ ‘So, does he have a heater, or…?’ _ Levi processes some magic with his hands, and in a second the pool is full of colorful and different fishes swimming around. The bottom of the pool starts to look more and more like the bottom of a sea; you can even see algae and corals. The ambient air starts getting warmer too. You watch amazedly. The magic of the demons is so  _ cool _ , why don't they use it all the time? Levi transforms his pool into a legit piece of the ocean.

“Must be good now,” Levi says. “Ah, I wish I could see Tsuki in beach clothing…”

“Sorry to disappoint you but I have none,” you say before touching the water with your foot again. It’s a lot warmer now.

“I guess the cliché of the protagonist finding a lost upper part of a bikini while swimming with the love interest isn’t something that happens in real life with real otakus…” he laments. Now he’s starting to act like himself again.

“Should I remind you that you are missing quite an important point in your daydream?” you call out, a bit annoyed, but Levi continues to talk to himself about anime beach episodes and you end up ignoring his ramblings.

Leaving Levi alone with his otaku hopes and dreams, you jump into the pool, and are instantly swallowed by the warm salt water. You swim freely for a moment before having to go back up to breathe. When you open your eyes and look around you see Levi looking at you from the border, a shocked expression on his face.

“Aren’t you coming too? Let’s swim.” You float on the water to show you’re having a good time.

“Should I just enter in my demon form?” he asks, now acting terribly timid.

“Let me guess, you don’t want to undress?” You don’t look back since you hear a surprised gasp. “Fine by me, whatever is more comfortable for you.”

The envy demon hesitates for a little longer before turning and entering the pool. However, it’s not his usual demon form. The horns are longer, they remind you of corals. His tail and scales are still there, but most of his skin is covered by purple glowing scales. His ears transform into fish-like fins and his feet and hands get webbing between his fingers and toes. The only piece of clothing is his dark pants. Levi jumps into the pool and keeps most of himself submerged. Only the top of his head above his nose is visible over the water line. His pupils are different too, they become slits just like those of a reptile.  _ ‘Ooh, maybe he IS a sea serpent after all!’ _ You swim even closer to him; too bad he’s hiding himself in the water. Some curious little fishes bump your toes while you swim and it tickles. Hopefully your staring at Levi’s new form didn’t make him  _ too _ uncomfortable, as you’re just curious. Now you are pretty damn sure he can, in fact, turn into an actual mythical Leviathan. Damn, you really want to see it. An  _ actual _ demon. Satan’s rage at the demons you fought made you pretty sure they can transform even more and now you wish to persuade them into showing some grotesque, animalistic and monstrous true demon form. You always knew their ‘demon’ forms are too similar to humans after all. 

“You are enjoying it,” Levi comments with embarrassment.

“Duh,” you grimace, “you look cool Levi! Don’t be shy, it’s only the two of us here!” You laugh happily, then swim again for a bit. “It brings back memories. I love the sea and swimming in general.”

“We should visit the beach sometime,” he suggests and you agree.

Slowly, Levi starts letting go of his self-consciousness. You ask him about the beaches in the Devildom and when you realize it, he’s rambling about beach episodes from anime again. At least talking about anime makes him come out of his shell.

“What did you even obsess over before anime, manga and games, Levi?” you ask, stopping by the edge to rest for a bit, putting your arms there and resting your head over them. Only barely moving your legs.

“I guess it hasn't been a long time since manga started existing,” he wonders. After going pensive for a moment, he smiles. “After I fell, I was really into researching marine creatures. I spent many years visiting all the seas and rivers in the Devildom looking for new species! I made various friends, since I am an aquatic demon as well.” He’s so happy telling you his life story! “In fact, I even wrote many books about sea creatures. They are old books too, most of the materials about the marine life of the Devildom we study in RAD references my books! Sometimes it makes me envious, they should just have kept on using  _ my _ books!” A low ‘wow’ escapes your lips while Levi growls, annoyed, but then he shows you a big smile. “You are impressed right? You won’t believe what happened next. They made me the Grand Admiral of the Hell’s Navy. Me!” he laughs. “They said as the strongest aquatic demon I should lead them, but I have always despised being around many people, so I often found myself locked in my house or in my office while organizing the navy forces from behind.” Even talking about it makes him visibly uncomfortable.

“You are right, I am impressed.” Honestly, because these demons fool around and act stupid all the time you forget they are thousands of years old, powerful and influential demons. “I bet you have a beach house,” you comment, trying to change the subject from his life in the navy.

“I have several.” He smiles again. “You know we haven’t been living in the House of Lamentation for a long time, right? We moved here after Diavolo invited Lucifer to be the vice president of the student council. We were living separately for a couple of centuries, everyone busy with our own work, but Lucifer dragged all of us together with him to live here and forced us to attend RAD too. We have many houses in the Devildom, you are right too, all of mine are near a body of water. Sea, rivers and lakes.”

“Oh, so the title of ‘Rules of Hell’ actually means something?”

“Of course, it does! Every one of us is a Ruler of something, and we did and sometimes still do some very important work!” Levi explains as if it were obvious.

“Wait, so the never-ending paperwork Lucifer does is part of his Ruler of Strictness work?”

Levi blinks before going on a full blow laugh. He repeats ‘Ruler of Strictness’ a couple of times under his breath while laughing. Some eels are swimming happily around Levi’s feet and you end up staring at the gorgeous sea view from the bottom of the pool. Looks just like those fantastic images of the great coral reef of Australia.

“Yes, right,” Levi clears a tear from his eye, “Lucifer is the one who works the most. I think everyone dropped or passed the Ruler work to the side for now, minus Lucifer. What a workaholic.” You nod, agreeing. “Hmm. What were we talking about before again?” he wonders.

_ ‘Good question, how did we even reach this topic? _ ’ 

“Oh,” you remember after thinking for a while. “It all started when I asked what you obsessed over before anime, manga and games.”

“Ah, I have trailed off. Answering your question, while I was in charge of the navy, I liked spending my spare time with theatrical plays. I was a big fan, always attending the latest trends in the Devildom theaters. It switched to movies, when movies became a big thing on the Human Realm. But when I found out about manga and anime my life completely changed! I feel like I have found my real passion!”

That makes a lot of sense. Levi just told you a lot of interesting information about the demon brothers. Swimming around and talking about Levi’s demon life and his obsession with manga and anime is cool. You tell him about a bit of your life back in the human world too. This is a great way to distract you from all the shit that is happening to you. Instead of feeling bothered by the demons invading your room and dragging you into their hobbies, now you feel relieved. Every time you’re left alone with your thoughts, even when you don’t try to, you end up back to that awful day in the attic. And the thoughts dwell more and more deeply…until you don’t know who to blame anymore for your misfortune: Belphegor, Diavolo or yourself.

Your D.D.D. starts buzzing, waking you up from your daydreams. Levi, who was rambling about anime, is currently closer to the device, so he gets it and reads your messages for you.

“Lucifer is back with our food,” he smiles and starts singing about sushi.

“Sweet!”

“There are also like, a hundred notifications from both Asmo and Mammon.”

“Forget them, let’s go eat!” You roll your eyes; the messages can wait. You’re just going to reply to them later. Both demons should be focusing more on the Majolish event anyway. “Do you happen to have a towel to hand me?”

Levi says yes. He goes back to his room first, while you’re left to get out of the pool while feeling so much heavier than normal. Taking your shoes and D.D.D. back in your hands, you go upstairs. Levi hands you a blue koi themed towel. He's warped in a Ruri-chan towel, back in his human form. For a minute you wonder if you should go into his bathroom to take off your wet clothes so you don’t wet the whole corridor, but that could make him go through another shyness attack and you feel like you embarrassed him enough already. So, you bid him farewell after thanking him for the swimming and the towel.

You sprint into the hallway to reach your room faster, but  _ maybe that’s not a good idea _ . Lucifer appears out of nowhere and you let out a yell in surprise, stopping suddenly and almost slipping. You attach yourself to a nearby wall, heart beating frantic from the scare. The avatar of pride moves to meet you, watching you carefully.

“I’m surprised you didn’t actually fall,” he says impassively. “Why are you so wet?” As he’s still in his RAD uniform, he was probably going to his own room to change.

“I was swimming in Levi’s pool,” you give him a smile. “Honestly, why does no one tell me about the cool stuff this house has?”

“Go dry yourself before you catch a cold or slip and break a leg.”

“Yes, sir.” Can’t argue with that.

You quickly take a bath to wash all the salt from your body. While changing into some warm pajamas, you’re starting to feel hungry. Levi is waiting for you at the end of the hallway and you go with him to the kitchen. Boxes of sushi from The Vile Fishermen are on top of the table. From the number of boxes, Lucifer must be feeling pretty generous. You and Levi open the boxes and grab the chopsticks. Luckily, Lucifer doesn't take long to join you two, so everyone starts eating. The sushi is divine, the best sushi you ever ate in your life. When Beel, Belphie and Satan come back from the RAD library, there’s not a single sushi left for any of them. Beel then proceeded to look just like a sad puppy. Until he grabbed an empty box to eat. His brothers stopped him, thankfully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Imma just go ahead and reveal that Tsuki is non-binary and AMAB (assigned male at birth). So, back in the pool scene, they are implying they wouldn’t use a bikini, invalidating Levi’s fantasies. It's actually pretty hard to write with a gender-neutral MC, since I never did it before, but I’m trying my best (second person pov surely helps a lot).


	6. Girls/Girls/Boys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a lot of fun to write! The game may not give Asmo character development or depth so I did it myself ;)   
> Girls/Girls/Boys by Panic! At the Disco.

**Chapter 6 – Girls/Girls/Boys**

Asmo made quite a surprise on the next day.

After coming home early with Asmo, thanks to the lack of club activities at this time of the year (truly a shame since the best part of RAD is the cooking club), you go to his room to have your hair dyed. You  _ thought _ you chose a good blonde shade, it’s supposed to be a few shades darker than Satan’s, but it came off a bit too light for your taste. Asmo caught your sulking about the new color and proposed to buy another hair dye. But since you dislike dyeing it constantly, you told him to wait a week to see if you get used to it before painting it again. The avatar of lust has to leave right after helping you. He’s awfully excited to go out for some reason, but you can’t put your finger on it. Feels like he’s planning some scheme.

After Asmo leaves, you go straight to Levi’s room to do some gaming. Which you can, for about an hour and a half. You and Levi start celebrating after beating a gimmick boss when Asmo invades the room. He seems to enjoy invading his brother’s room without permission. Good to know you aren’t the only one who suffers from getting your room invaded.

“What are you doing in my room again, normie?!” Levi yells in irritation.

“I’m looking for Tsuki, of course! Do I even need any reason to come to your room?”

Levi hisses like a snake.

“That’s why no one fucking loves you, Asmo!” he screams. “You only think of yourself!”

“Ouch,” he says indifferently before turning to you and smiling. A fake smile, you can see. “Come with me, Tsuki, I bought you new clothes!”

Wow, he legit ignored Levi.

“Right now? But we are gaming,” you pout. Levi and you  _ just _ got over that awful boss battle. Besides, Levi is right, Asmo is too selfish. However, the avatar of lust simply rolls his eyes and marches through the room, pulling you with him.

“You can keep gaming later.”

“But later I need to make dinner.”

“Then play games after dinner. It can wait.”

“Clothes can wait too,” Levi says and stands up in annoyance. He grabs your other arm and now you are awkwardly between the two, each one holding one of your arms.

“I think even a reclusive person like you will enjoy the new clothes I bought for Tsuki, Levi,” Asmo winks, making Levi groan. What is he planning?

“Urg…” You can’t decide which one is the most annoying demon. At the same time you want to tell Asmo to fuck off you also want to know what he’s planning. After a minute of hesitation and several insults thrown around, by both Levi and Asmo, you turn to Levi. “It will be quick, I’ll just put on whatever he bought and come back here so we can play for a little longer before I need to make dinner.”

Levi eyes you unhappily, while Asmo cracks a laugh. In the end, Levi lets you go. He says he’ll be grinding till you’re back. Asmo keeps giggling until you’re locked inside his room. There’s a big bag from Majolish on top of his bed and by the way he’s smiling, you’re starting to think that maybe this was a mistake.

Asmo looks inside the bag and puts a lot of clothes on his bed. Eyeing them curiously, you see they are all very feminine.

“As—”

“I think you’ll look  _ so cute _ with this outfit!” he announces excitedly, and shows you the outfit in question.

A pastel pink crop top with ruffles, a plaid pink and blue skirt that couldn’t reach your knees, a cute pink belt, a pair of white boots with a pink sole and a black choker.

“ _ No _ .”

“No?!”

“Give up.”

“Tsuki, noooo…!” Asmo stops you before you can unlock the door. He’s holding both your hands so you can’t leave. “Please, you’ll look so cute!”

“I don’t want to look  _ cute _ ,” you complain. “What will your brothers even  _ think _ if they see me wearing it?”

“Hopefully they’ll be stunned by your beauty.”

“I—” You stop, contemplating his words. They never saw you in such feminine clothing. Nothing against it, but you prefer to use comfortable clothes, especially black, purple or dark blue. Your options for cute clothes are pajamas, the cuter the better. “Would they be? Stunned, I mean?”

A devilish smile appears on Asmo’s features.

“Of course, my dear. I bet they will even stop functioning for a bit.”

That kind of sounds fun. Asmo releases your hands.

“Interesting. But if you want me to dress in that, I should get something in return.”

“You mean, the free clothes and makeup aren’t enough?”

‘ _ Ah, damn, he is kind of right _ .’

You need to think for a moment. Then you remember what just happened in Levi’s room.

“How about you apologize to Levi?” you suggest. Asmo gets pensive for a moment, not looking happy. “He has a point, you know? You are terribly selfish and self-centered, Asmo. If you never take your brother's feelings and opinions into account, they’ll all end up hating you.”

“Hm. Maybe they already do.” He crosses his arms, serious.

You cross your arms too and wrinkle your nose.

“I don’t think so.”

“And what do  _ you _ know?” he spits angrily. His eyebrows furrow and angry lines appear in his previously flawless skin that he is so proud of.

For a second you want to say the sassy answer, but you hold onto your wishes. Think for a second longer…and decide to go with the sassy answer anyway.

“Calm down, princess, or I’ll think you are secretly dying to receive some  _ actual _ love from your family.”

His whole body trembles in fury and he yells something in demonic language. You don’t know what it means but you can tell it’s bad as you recognize a few words that are insults. You heard them a lot this year. Asmo is looking furiously at you, but you remain calm. You expect a demon form to appear at any time, but it never comes. After a few more moments, he realizes you’re not scared and gets confused.

“Uh? Oh my, you really are fearless.” He seems to notice it a bit late. “Aaah, and immune to my charms.” Angry demons are all stupid, apparently.

“I have no idea what you said.”

The avatar of lust keeps staring at you for a bit longer. His puzzled expression is quite fun; he seems so out of place. Like something truly incomprehensible is acting in front of him. After a minute, he laughs sadly.

“You are serious.”

“Only got it now?” He laughs without emotion again. Then his eyes drop to the ground. 

“Do you think so? That they actually love me?”

Once again you want to give him the sassy answer, but this time you decide to be more serious.

“Of course,” you say simply.  _ ‘Otherwise they wouldn’t pull with you for this long.’ _ “If you actually try to be nice and help your brothers without talking  _ only _ about you or flirting endlessly, maybe they will treat you better. Because, there  **must** be more about you than yourself, clothes, makeup, yourself, shopping, parties, sex and yourself.”

“You said ‘yourself’ three times.”

“I know.”

“Pff,” he laughs again, but it’s more genuine this time. Asmo sits heavily on his bed. “Ne, Tsuki.” He pats the available space beside him, wanting you to sit with him. You comply. “Did you know, back at the Celestial Realm, before the Fall, I used to be a great angel? Not the strongest, I didn’t even fight much, but I had a job and I was really good at it,” he says, and pauses to smile, reflecting on his old memories. “Everyone looked up to me and complimented me on a daily basis! I was one of top angels back in my time! A legion of angels wanted to learn my ways and were all my followers. But then, in the Devildom, things went differently…” His expression gets darker and Asmo goes deep in thought.

Ah, that explains a lot. So, he had to start getting attention and respect from scratch. He had quite the fall from grace too. Asmo didn’t finish this story, but it is obvious now, he braced himself and tried to show everyone how  _ great _ he is, and it became his personality. His narcissistic persona is so ingrained in him that it has become the default. Damn, Simeon was right all along.

“I feel like I can understand you better now,” you say, breaking the silence. Asmo looks back at you and he looks really sorrowful. “I know that you like me, and that you love your family, but you need to show them you love them  _ too _ , y’know. Try to be more like yourself. The  _ real _ you.”

“I don’t know if the real me even exists anymore,” he admits, a sad expression tainting his face for the first time in who knows how long.

“I think he exists,” you say firmly, making Asmo snap back at you. “The caring Asmo that likes spending his time with others and making them happy, he still exists. I think you are a great friend, and you can be a great brother too, you just need to slow down on all this narcissism. Because sometimes it’s a big  _ pain _ to endure listening to you praise yourself over and over again.”

You wanted to say ‘always’ instead of ‘sometimes’ but you want Asmo to understand what you’re saying so it felt like you needed to tone down your sermon. Asmo gets silent, and he stares at his shoes for a minute. His expression is both serene and pensive now. He sighs after a while and shakes his head. You look back at the clothes. He always gets you things you never asked for only to have an excuse to spend time with you. He’s secretly lonely and insecure, but instead of doubting himself and pushing people away (like you), he chooses to pretend he’s the greatest demon to ever exist and that everyone either loves him or is envious of him to make himself feel better. Both terrible ways to deal with problems, you recognize.

“You have no right being this clever, Tsuki,” Asmo comments, after a long time. You look back at him and the avatar of lust is offering you a smile. “I am going to apologize to Levi.”

“Oh?! Nice, I guess I’m dressing in my new clothes, then.”

You stand up, making Asmo gasp. He is surprised for a few seconds, and doesn’t believe you until you get the skirt.

“Thank you, Tsuki,” he smiles. He’s not talking about the clothes, you know it. Winking, you start changing. The avatar of lust helps you put on the clothes and do some light makeup, pink, to match. You hate to admit it, but once you look at yourself in the mirror you realize the clothes  _ do _ suit you well. Damn, Asmo is way too good at choosing clothes. He almost tears up when he sees you done and says how  _ marvelous _ you look. Well, since you feel beautiful you also feel powerful, and since you feel powerful, it’s time to tease the boys. But as soon as you try to leave, Asmo calls you.

“Ah, wait! You’re missing the choker.” Asmo quickly grabs a simple black choker from his bed. “This one is special, part of the Limited-Edition line, an enchanted choker. I bought one for myself too,” he winks. “You can choose a word or a phrase to stamp the choker! Watch this:  _ beauty _ .”

As soon as the word left his lips it appeared on the choker in a bright pink color.

“Wow, this is so cool!” You get closer and take the choker. “I can choose anything?”

“Anything! Haha, I knew you would enjoy it. If you shake it the word will be erased and you can pick whatever you want.”

You eye the choker with great interest, then shake it for a bit. ‘Beauty’ disappears completely. What would be a good enough word for you? Maybe something that will upset the demons. An evil grin finds its way into your face and you whisper ‘untouchable’ to the choker. The word appears in a font similar to those used by metal rock bands and you couldn’t be happier. The magical choker is also intelligent and seems to pick a font that fits the intent by the user. Coolest magical clothing ever. Asmo laughs at your word choice before helping you put it on.

Before leaving he asks to take a couple photos of you to post in his Devilgram. You didn’t want to at first, but after making him promise to hide your face you agree.

Going back to Levi’s room, you open the door making as much noise as possible.

“Finally, you’re back! Why’d it take you so long—”

Levi stops right in his tracks when he turns to look at you. He lets his mouth hang open and a blush is already spreading on his cheeks.

“Ts-Tsu… What a-are you wearing?”

“I lost a bet,” you lie while smiling, “do I look pretty?”

Levi starts stuttering and saying a bunch of gibberish that you can’t piece together. Well, a violently shy reaction was expected from Levi. Before you can tease him, Asmo appears behind you, smiling from one ear to the other.

“Hey, Levi, I’m sorry for earlier!” he says, making Levi snap from his dazed state and glance at his brother. “You were right, I was acting very selfish, but I promise to do better!” Asmo is being pretty sincere, but he may have finished breaking Levi, as the avatar is envious, staring at him without blinking and with a blank expression.

“Is it a prank?” Levi finally asks after a long time.

“Nope! Take the view of this pretty Tsuki as my apology.”

“I am neither a thing or a…” you stop, since you hear Satan calling your name.

Looking down the hallway after stepping out of the room, you see Satan coming at you.

“Tsuki! Beel told me to tell you…” Satan stops as soon as he has a better vision of you. He is frozen solid for a moment before he looks at you from head to toes. “What…are you wearing?”

“Do I look ugly?” you pout, wearing a fake sad mask.

Satan gasps and takes a hand to his chest, outraged at your words. ‘ _ This is so funny. I am so evil. _ ’

“Obviously not! You look rather, uh…” He’s blushing hard while struggling to find words. “Adorable.”

“Only adorable?” you match his hand on your chest as well, faking being offended.

“Of course, not!” Levi steps out of his room, stopping beside you, blushing hard again. Now you don’t know if he accepted Asmo’s apology or not. “Tsuki is the prettiest human to ever step in the Devildom! Their good looks may even rival Ruri-chan, and Ruri-chan is the prettiest magical girl to even exist.”

“I am as pretty as  _ Ruri-chan?!” _ This is actually very unexpected. Probably the highest praise you’ll ever hear from Levi. Did Asmo enchant these clothes or something?

“Uh…” Levi loses a bit of his steam here. “I guess…so? I mean…yes, uh.” He goes back into the extreme shy mode. You see Asmo peeking outside from Levi’s room with a curious smile.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to undervalue you!” Satan exclaims. “You look very beautiful. I mean, you  _ are _ beautiful, it’s just that… Those clothes are really good on you…” You can’t remember ever seeing Satan this disconcerted before. He never even stuttered before. “They enhance your beauty; this is what I’m trying to say.”

“Damn, Satan, do you want me to fall in love with you? I may.”

He gasps again, looking even more unsettled. Levi is screaming behind you, that probably triggered his sin of envy. Somehow you can hear Asmo cackling in the background.

“I don’t..! I never…! I…” He’s very cute like this. Why is Satan so perfect?  _ ‘Forget Lucifer and marry Satan instead, Tsuki, _ ’ you tell yourself, _ 'at least Satan doesn’t give you mixed signals.’ _

“ _ YOU ARE FALLING IN LOVE WITH SATAN?!” _ Levi is screaming for the whole damn house to hear.

“I’m kidding,” you say calmly, turning all your attention to Levi. “I’m only teasing him.”

“Oh.” The avatar of envy calms down all at once.

Looking back at the avatar of wrath, he’s still blushing deeply, and avoiding your eyes. Hopefully  _ he _ is not in love with you because if he finds out you love Lucifer a war may happen, who knows. They just became more friendly too, you don't want to make them go back at trying to tear each other apart.

“Tsuki, I almost forgot!” Satan says suddenly, in a hurry. “Beel has decided to make dinner today, I came here to deliver his message.”

“Really? I wonder why. Is he in the kitchen?” Satan nods. “Ok, I’ll go see him.” You pat him on the head before you pass him. Satan jumps away a bit, not expecting this. “I was only teasing you, ok? Please don’t get it wrong, we are the greatest friends.” You smile at him, making him go even redder.

“HEY! What about  _ me _ ?!”

“Levi please, you are irreplaceable,” you wink at him, making a heart with your hands and getting another violently shy reaction from the otaku. “You two are my best friends in this hellhole. Thanks for the compliments, guys.” You wink at them again and you can swear both demons  _ melt _ . Oh, the effects you cause on those demons. Asmo winks at you and waves you goodbye. Looks like the avatar of lust is happy with what he saw so far.

Today you are on cooking duty, but seems like Beel wanted to cook. You find him over the old fashioned stove (that is basically a giant fire pit) mixing something inside a giant cauldron. You completely ignored the old fashioned stove since day one; there’s absolutely no way a clumsy person such as yourself can cook over literal hell fire. Thankfully, they also have a modern gas stove that you have claimed as yours, since you are the one who uses it the most. Talking about the modern stove, you see another cauldron on top of it and a basket full of freshly made bread. How long has Beel been here? Ever since he left RAD?

“What are you doing, Beel?”

Beel jumps a bit, startled. He looks at you and his eyes widen.

“Cooking,” he says, simply. “Are you going out?”

“Well, no,” you shrug, “Asmo just insisted on putting these new clothes on me and I couldn’t say no.”

He nods slowly, as if it is too hard for him to process. Stepping closer to the fire, you see he’s making soup. It's already boiling, and has a nice look and smell. The avatar of gluttony goes back to mixing it, but you catch a faint blush on him. Or is it the fire's heat?

“You look nice,” Beel says, avoiding your eyes.

“Thank you.”

_ ‘Not 'you look tasty'? Progress!’ _

He keeps silent for a minute. You wait and wait but he’s not talking anymore.

“Did something happen? You are pretty quiet. Well, more than usual.”

Beel hums, takes off the giant spoon from the cauldron and covers it with a lid. He smiles as he lowers the fire with magic. The soup must be done.

“This is Belphie’s favorite dish, you know,” he says.

“And…? Is it his birthday or something?”

Hearing that, Beel 's smile drops, and he looks at the ground.

“No, we fought, actually.”

“You did? Aren’t you guys inseparable?” your voice is covered in surprise.

“Well, yes we are. But...” he trails off. After a few moments, he continues, “I wanted to talk to him about Lilith, and about him being locked in the attic... It wasn’t going so bad, but he didn’t like when I said it was my fault.”

“But it isn’t?!” you exclaim. “Beel, none of it is your fault! You shouldn’t be feeling guilt over it. You are a sweetheart and I know you just want your family to be happy and safe, but feeling guilty over those things is not healthy and they won’t help anything! It’s in the past and you can’t do anything about it, so you should forgive yourself and move on. I bet this is what your brothers want for you too.”

“Tsuki is right.” You scream and turn around in a heartbeat, hiding behind Beel, using him as a shield. Belphie is at the kitchen’s door, now looking at you with widened eyes. “Ah, I’m sorry, I didn’t want to startle you or eavesdrop, I just happened to be passing down and heard my name, so I decided to check it out. That’s all.” He takes a longer look at you, trying to see you better. “Hmm, I didn’t know you used those types of clothes too,” he comments. Well, isn’t that marvelous? Mister Murder notices the type of clothes you use too. 

You try to relax, but it’s hard to after being scared like that. Thanks to your stubborn way of avoiding Belphie it only takes him to speak around you to make you go into full fight or flight instinct. While Belphie remains at the kitchen door to the dining room, you keep yourself behind Beel, looking at Belphie from a distance.

“Relax.”

“I don’t want to hear it from  _ you _ ,” you retort, a bit too angrily. ‘ _ Aren’t you supposed to forgive him some day, Tsuki? Don’t you want to get over it, Tsuki? Don’t you wish the nightmares would stop? _ ’ you think, now angry at yourself.

Belphegor rolls his eyes, but proceeds to ignore your presence. 

“Beel, I already told you you don’t need you to make it up to me, I don’t blame you! You don’t need to act like you need to punish yourself, I hate it,” Belphie says seriously, directly to Beel’s face.

Beel looks down for a second and scratches his head. Being this close to him, you can see how uncomfortable he is.

“I’m sorry Belphie, I really am.” Beel is still looking awkwardly to the ground so you push him forward. He only moves because he wants to, you could never make him move by force; Beel’s basically a mountain of muscles and stomach, and you feel as small as a fly besides him.

“Go make up with him,” you whisper, urging him ahead, so you can run away when they are not looking. And because you don’t like to see him so sad and hurt.

“Thanks,” he smiles at you and walks to Belphie. “Sorry, I won’t let myself feel guilt over it anymore, Belphie. I’ll try really hard, I promise. Sorry if I hurt you.” He is looking at his twin with his eyes full of sincerity.

Belphie smiles.

“Beel, you’re just all stomach and muscles, no?” he says playfully before allowing Beel to give him a big hug. “Urg, Beel, don’t squeeze me so hard, you’re going to break me in half!”

‘ _ He deserves it. _ ’

“Haha, sorry, sorry, I am just too happy!” They keep in a tight embrace for a while, laughing and joking. You are happy for them, well, for Beel. Seeing Beel happy makes you happy. He is a sweetheart that takes everything to heart.

When the twins calm down, the three of you sit down at the table to eat Beel’s special soup. You really didn’t want to, but Beel insisted on having you taste his soup. Even though he made it for Belphie. But it is almost dinner time and everything is ready. The other brothers should come soon. Maybe that’s a good opportunity to  _ talk _ to Belphie for a little. Like the adult you are.

“So, you two can feel what the other is feeling?” you ask looking at one, then the other. They both nod. It’s the first time you talk again to Belphie in person since telling him off in RAD. You are trying to slowly let go of your irrational fear. Wait, he literally  _ killed  _ you, it’s not  _ irrational, _ it’s very justified! Who would guess you are going back to the human world with  _ more  _ trauma than you came? “Then, how could Beel never guess you were locked in the attic?” You finally ask the question that has been bothering you.

“I was never able to feel Belphie since Lucifer told us he has been sent to the human world. I thought since we were so far apart that it wasn't working anymore,” Beel says, looking somewhat guilty. Belphie “lightly” punches him on the am before he could dwell again on the bad feelings.

“It was Lucifer’s magic,” Belphie clarifies. “I also couldn’t feel Beel. I tried really hard once, but I don’t think it worked, the magic keeping me locked was just too strong.”

Even with the twins being so close, the demon’s magic was so strong it didn’t let them feel each other—that was crazy.

“Are you speaking normally to Lucifer now, Belphie?” you ask, curious. Because you had refused to be around Belphie since he became free, you don't know how he is treating and being treated by his other brothers. It doesn’t help that Lucifer never talks about him. The others you can ask about it.

“Somehow,” he shrugs nonchalantly. “I’m sure I’ll be pissed at him for a while, still.” He finishes his second plate of soup before turning back to you. “What about you?”

“Hm? Me and Lucifer are fine,” you reply a bit confused.

“No,” he lets a laugh escape. “I mean if you are going to talk to me normally now.”

“Ah, it is the first time you two are speaking to each other, right,” Beel suddenly realizes, bless his pure heart. His smile grows bigger.

“I guess,” you say simply. “I should start to try to get over it soon. Hopefully.”

Belphie seems satisfied with your response and doesn't press the subject anymore, but Beel resolves to cut in.

“You didn’t take too long to forgive my other brothers, Tsuki,” he states.

“You think so?” you say in the middle of a spoonful of soup. It really is delicious. A bit too spicy, however. You won't be getting seconds; your mouth is starting to burn a bit too much for your taste. Did Beel really have to bring that back in front of Belphie? “Maybe it was because they didn’t trick me, kill me and try to kill me again when they saw I was still alive.” There’s no fear or anger in your words, oddly, only some annoyance.

Beel gulps, suddenly ashamed of his question, but, to your surprise, Belphie only laughs.

“Fair enough, I should have expected you to hold a grudge about it. I mean, I am holding some resentment over both Diavolo and Lucifer, anyway.”

Oh yeah, Diavolo is another entire can of worms by himself, but you try to not think about him for now. You already have too many problems to focus on.

“Good, then it means we are on the same page.”

Belphie laughs wholeheartedly while you go to grab a cup of water from the fridge. You eye him suspiciously.

“My brothers are right, you are a very upfront and fearless human, Tsuki.” He continues to laugh for a little longer. “How did you manage to stay alive this long?”

“I honestly have no idea.”

Belphie snorts. At the same time, Beel seems to still be a bit uncomfortable and somewhat confused as well. In all fairness, even though you are bickering at Belphie, he seems to be taking it very lightly and making any type of conversation with him  _ is _ progress. Instead of sitting back at the table, you take the dishes to the sink. Looking at the clock, you see it's dinner time. The other demons should be getting to the dining room to eat at any time now. You get a piece of bread from the basket while sorting the dishes to take to the dining room. Garlic bread, so delicious. Now you want to steal some more for later. When Beel sees you working, he gets up and comes to help you.

“The one you took the longest to befriend was Lucifer, anyway,” Beel comments. “He even attacked you that one time, when you defied him to protect me and Luke.”

“True.”

“Wait, wait,  _ Lucifer  _ attacked Tsuki?” Belphie has turned to Beel, astonished.

“I made him very pissed off and he  _ actually _ attacked me.” You only say it because you feel like you should say something before Beel opens his mouth. Knowing him, he would start by saying it was his fault. “It was very stupid, he misunderstood something and tried to attack both Beel and Luke so I jumped in front of them and told Lucifer to calm the fuck down and listen to me. He knocked me out with one hand.”

When you turn with the dishes in hand, you see that Belphie is staring at you horrified, as if you had grown another head.

“Unbelievable,” he says after a minute. Beel looks uncomfortable again, he must be regretting touching the subject by now. “Aren’t you supposed to be his protégé? The precious human exchange student from Diavolo’s most special program? He actually  _ attacked _ you? Wow. I’m shocked,” he says to no one in particular.

You wonder if Belphie would say it if he knew you hated being called that. ‘Lucifer’s protégé' your ass, that’s just some basic propaganda used to stop the demons from trying to mess with you in RAD. Belphie continues to look absolutely incredulous while you glare at Beel hoping he will change the subject. Beel opens his mouth to speak but Mammon peeks by the kitchen door, calling all the attention to him.

“Hey! Is the food done? What are the three of you doing here?” You were never so happy to see Mammon again in your entire life. Quickly, you walk away, putting all the clean dishes in the hands of the greed demon.

“Since you’re here, help me.”

Mammon’s eyes grow bigger and seem to be frozen in place. Why is he… Oh right, the girly clothes. You can already listen to some noise coming from the dining room. The other boys should be sitting there by now.

“Why are you using Majolish's new collection?” Mammon says. Looks like he’s blushing already.

A lot of comebacks appear in your mind. Which one to pick? Well, Beel and Belphie are right here, better try to not be too lascivious. Even if you’re faking it.

“Presents from Asmo, do they suit me?” you wink just to throw him off. He shivers, visibly. He’s even easier to tease than Levi, that’s impressive.

“You… I… Why would I say if some clothes suit a human?”

You squint your eyes and frown. To Hell with the cute façade.

“Why shouldn’t I break a plate on your head until you stop being such a tsundere?”

A laugh echoes through the room and it gives you horrible flashbacks. You flinch, knowing it’s Belphie’s laugh. You keep your gaze on Mammon, afraid to look behind you.

“Oh my, this human is amazing,” he laughs. “Mammon is so much of a disappointment as a demon that a human is scarier than him.”

The heartbeat is so loud in your ears it almost makes you miss Mammon’s reply.

“Yesh, whatever, you look cute! Is that what you want to hear, human?” he says in his very tsundere tone.

“Just cute?” You attempt to put on the cute, innocent, mask again, but you’re feeling so fearful it’s impossible.

Mammon blinks at you, probably realizing you don’t look well.

“Hahaha, did I make my human sad by not complimenting their beauty? My bad! The Great Mammon must admit those pinkish clothes bring the best in Tsuki.”

“Call me ‘your human’ again and I  _ will _ break a plate on your head.”

The greed demon gulps, scared at the seriousness in your tone, and Belphie snorts. So, the crazy murder demon likes those types of jokes? He must be the black sheep. Another reason to stay the hell away from him. You manage to walk; Mammon gets out of your way and Beel follows you behind. The other brothers are indeed in the dining room, waiting for the dinner. 

Levi and Satan seem to avoid looking at you. How cute, they are still embarrassed. Asmo just laughs happily upon seeing their shy reactions. You and Beel serve the dinner and Belphie goes back to his room, saying he’s tired and wants to sleep. Lucifer is still missing, so you volunteer to bring him dinner. Mammon, the avatar of jealousy, starts saying some bullshit that can only be interpreted as him not wanting Lucifer to see you in those clothes. But you smile and wave him goodbye. You wink and say his jealousy is cute, throwing him off, causing him to stutter. Asmo starts cracking up again; he’s enjoying it even more than you.

Since it’s been a while, you are already used to the clothes. They don’t bother you aside from your own paranoia with using skirts. But when you see yourself in front of the study door, you start feeling unsure. How will he react? Will he even like it? You fidget around for a bit, walking in front of the door. Breathing heavily to try to calm down. Come on, you just talked like a civilized adult in front of Belphegor (for most of the time), you can face Lucifer. Taking one more deep breath, you knock at the door. It unlocks and you hear Lucifer’s voice, telling you to enter right away. Maybe he heard you walking in front of his study like an idiot.

Bracing yourself, you enter. After managing to stun all his other brothers you can definitely say at least one suggestive comment at his face. And if he doesn’t like it you can just tell him to go screw himself. You take the opportunity that the avatar of pride is still looking at his paper to cross the study and leave the tray with his dinner on top of the desk. Then you stand right in front of him, looking at the demon nervously.

“I brought your dinner,” you say, after a minute of nothing. Your voice sounds a bit off, but better than expected.

“Thank you, though I don’t remember asking for it.” He finally raises his head to look at you. Then he goes completely still. After a moment, Lucifer blinks quickly, and starts looking at your body up and down. His expression is serious and his eyes are focused, unable to leave your form. The seconds seem to drag while he’s silent. ‘ _ Just hurry up and say something! _ ’ You can already feel a blush creeping into your cheeks. “Why the different clothing today? Are you going out?” Lucifer asks, after noticing that he is staring a bit too much at your body. A smirk grows on his face as he relaxes into his chair.

“Never,” you reply a bit too quickly, then take a breath to calm yourself. “Asmo bought me those clothes and forced me to wear them. They are from the newest collection of Majolish. I wouldn’t go out like this…I mean, where would I even  _ go _ ?”

He chuckles, his eyes are still dancing up and down on your whole body, making you grow more and more nervous.

“That’s good, because I would be forced to go with you.”

“What, why?”

“Why?” He looks taken aback for a second, before his expression gets serious. “Because you would catch the attention of many demons dressed like this. I, obviously, would keep an eye or two on you so no lower demons would dare to try anything.”

“Are you saying I’m attractive like this?” You spin around, showing the whole outfit for him to see. His words made you feel more confident. They also make your blush deepen. A smile sets on your face and a giggle leaves your lips. You decide to not tell him you can simply use the pacts to protect yourself now, just because you’re not against the idea of having Lucifer as a personal bodyguard.

“Don’t make me laugh, you are always—” he stops himself in the middle of his words, a bit too abruptly for someone like him.

“I am always what?” you smile devilishly. What was he going to say? ‘ _ Tell me, tell me. I want to hear it!’ _

Lucifer crosses his arms and looks away. His cheeks are getting a bit of color.

“…You’re always attractive…” he mutters under his breath.

You can’t help but giggle again. These clothes are one hundred percent paying off. Though you find the ‘always’ part hard to believe, Lucifer finds you attractive? That is glorious news. The excitement is so huge you may start to dance and sing at any moment now. There’s no more insecurity inside of you; pink may be your lucky color. Lucifer looks back at you with that annoyed expression. Maybe he’s waiting for some teasing but you’re just too happy to be thinking about teasing him. Just hearing him say you’re attractive to him is enough, no need to tease him like his brothers. Maybe he even deserves a kiss. If you manage to gather that much courage.

“Does your choker say ‘untouchable’?” he asks suddenly.

“It does! It’s a magical choker too! If you say a word right next to it, the choker will display that word until you change it,” you explain, excited. “It’s a limited-edition deluxe item from Majolish, Asmo bought one for him and one for me.”

“Interesting. You choose the word? Fits your personality. Can I see it?” He doesn’t look annoyed anymore, rather, he seems curious.

“Oh? I bet you’re interested in its magic. You look like the type who enjoys studying magical artifacts, right.”

“That’s right. You know me so well, Tsuki.”

Lucifer shows you a hand and you take the choker off. You shake it energetically, and the word is wiped. You show the result to Lucifer before handing it to him. The pride demon examines the accessory carefully. After a few seconds, he brings it right next to his lips and smirks.

“Lucifer’s,” he says in what can only be descripted as a sensual tone.

_ Lucifer’s _ shines in bright red letters and a nice font that almost looks handwritten. Before you know it, his hands are behind your neck, putting the choker on you. When you have time to process what is happening and panic, Lucifer has already pulled back and the choker is on your neck. You touch it with both hands, still confused about the quick work of the devil. Yes, the choker is definitely here. With  _ Lucifer’s _ written on it.

“Now you look absolutely  _ perfect _ ,” he says breathily with a huge grin on his face.

You march to the demon and pull him closer, both hands gripping at the vests of his collar.

“Is this a feeble attempt at a joke?” you bark, loudly, angrily. Lucifer is smiling uncontrollably and your face twists to display even more rage. Your good mood is gone; he’s playing with you. “I would like to remind you that I don’t belong to anyone. And definitely not to you.”

Lucifer presses his lips together, trying not to laugh at your face. He looks cute and soft but you can't be weak! ‘ _ How dare he make a fool of me? Right after I, so excitedly, showed him the magical choker!’ _

“If you don’t belong to anyone then that means I have a chance.” His stupid big grin is annoying the hell out of you.

“Only if it's a chance of pissing me off!” you scream. “Go screw yourself, Lucifer!”

Letting go of Lucifer all at once, you turn to leave, hoping his clothes are not as perfect as they should be. Fuck him.

“Tsuki, wait,” he calls, voice cracking with laughter.

“WHAT?!”

Making the mistake of turning in your heels to look at him, you hear the ‘click’ of a photo being taken. Your eyes can only focus on the D.D.D. on his hand.

“Thanks.”

Basically flying, you see yourself grabbing at Lucifer’s arm with speed you didn’t know you had and strength that is more than likely borrowed from one of your pacts.

“Give me this phone.  _ NOW _ .” He goes into a full-blown laugh and lets his D.D.D. drop. If it was on another occasion you would be delighted to hear the sound of his unfiltered laugh. You catch the D.D.D. still in midair and let go of Lucifer all at once, forgetting him immediately. Frantically tapping the device, you see the photo he took of you. It’s possible to see how the choker says his name so you delete it. Erase it. None of this ‘to the trashcan’ nonsense, 100% deleted. He is still laughing when you’re finished so you throw his D.D.D. on the ground, in one last angry movement.

The sound of the thing hitting the ground snaps you out of your rage momentaneously. You stare back at it, paralyzed, just now realizing what you have done. He  _ works _ with that thing. Lucifer stops his laughter attack to eye his belongings too. Calmly, he retrieves it from the ground. He taps it around while you stay still in the middle of the room, the fear making you immovable. When you feel your legs again, you realize there’s no place to run anyway, better stay here and save him the chase.

“It’s fine,” he says after a minute. “Ah, you did delete it, that’s too bad, it was going to be my new wallpaper.”

A new wave of anger rises inside of you. 

“GO TO HELL, LUCIFER!”

“But we are already here.”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAA,” you give him an unholy scream before stomping outside of his study. You stop at the door, however, and show him your most furious face one last time. You do hate being outsmarted, there’s no way you are leaving without having the last word. “Then go to the Celestial Realm and  _ die _ .”

You see him visually cringe before slamming the door shut.

Marching through the corridors, you only see red. There’s nothing you want more than to take off these clothes, take a bath and go sleep.

“Oh, you’re here,” Mammon waves at you in the corridor. “I was looking for you, Satan gave me this really heavy book to deliver…” his voice starts going low while his expression becomes shocked. It takes him just one more moment before he’s screaming. “What the  _ fuck _ ?! Why are you red and why does your choker say ‘ _ Lucifer’s?!” _

You rip off the choker in the same second Mammon finishes talking.

“ **LUCIFEEEEEER!”** He better have listened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small spoilers: this chapter and the previous one are the calm before the storm :eyes:


	7. Duality

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Duality by Set If Off  
> “I can't quite contain or explain my evil ways. Or explain why I'm not sane. All I can say is this is your warning.”

**Chapter 7 – Duality**

The last day of the semester has come. As expected, you passed all subjects. Most of them have average grades, but you exceeded on some subjects. After the last class of the semester you have to go to the student council courtroom to one last meeting. Just one more meeting and  _ freedom _ . Well, from RAD, at least.

Barbatos and Lucifer are finishing with the boring session. You spend the whole time sneaking text messages to both Mammon and Levi, as both are beyond bored. When the final words were said and the meeting concluded, the only thing left for Asmo to do was dance. He and Satan come to congratulate you.

“Finally! Ah, Tsuki, congratulations on your grades! You are very smart too,” the avatar of lust greets you.

“All your hard work paid off! Congratulations,” says Satan. “Let’s enjoy our break taking it easy.”

Politely, you thank both demons.

“Though, I must say I’m surprised Levi passed on everything this time,” Asmo comments.

“Hahaha, Tsuki tricked me into studying with them a few times and helped me to not miss my deadlines!” Levi laughs happily. “At first I thought it was annoying, but when I noticed, I had finished all my work and only needed to submit it! Tsuki is the best friend an otaku like me could have asked for.”

He and you fist bump. Helping Levi was nothing, really.

“Thanks, Levi. But all I did was set a bunch of alarms on your D.D.D. so you wouldn’t forget the deadlines,” you explain. Your mood gets sour when you catch sight of a certain demon. “I did the same thing to Mammon but he still missed some deadlines!”

Satan and Asmo both look at Mammon with pity looks, not surprised.

“I can’t believe even with the selfless help of Tsuki you still missed your deadlines, Mammon,” Lucifer scolds. You didn’t notice he was listening. “Truly, you are a disappointment.”

“I was working on some projects and ended up forgetting,” Mammon murmurs, avoiding his brother’s reproving looks. “When I turned in my work, the professor took a few points for it being late and I didn’t pass!”

“This was to be expected,” Satan says.

Mammon shrugs. He must be used to not passing by now, since he can’t care less. You just roll your eyes and follow the brothers to leave. Ah, finally, not having to be here for two whole weeks! No homework for two weeks! No disgusting looks in the corridors! Only some calm, peace and…

“Tsuki, wait a minute, please,” Diavolo’s voice makes you stop. ‘ _ God, why? _ ’ “I would like to speak to you for a moment.”

You turn slowly. Diavolo and Barbatos are in the middle of the room, waiting for your response. The demon brothers have stopped too. Can you say no? You want to say no. Even though you know he will force you to stay you feel like you should be able to tell him you don’t want to. But before you can find some courage to say ‘no’ to the face of the Prince of the Devildom, he shoos the demon brothers away. Minus Lucifer, who is also very still, slowly gathering some papers and stocking them in his bag.

Reluctantly, the demon brothers leave. Lucifer finishes getting his papers and walks away from the table, stopping awkwardly between you and Diavolo.

“I want to talk about what happened to you. I wanted to have this talk with you before but I got very busy with the end of the semester,” he says, “Are you doing well?”

“I’m fine.” You force a smile, which probably looks very forced. “If that’s it, then I’m going.”

“Oh no, wait a bit more,” Diavolo insists. ‘ _ Fuck.’ _ “I wish to hear your thoughts.” He seems to just now realize Lucifer is _ still _ here. “It’s ok, Lucifer, it shouldn’t take long, you can go ahead.”

Lucifer looked  _ almost _ uncomfortable, a first for him. 

“There’s no problem, I can wait.”

You hope no one notices the look of utter shock that takes over you. Not only did Lucifer get close to defying an order from Diavolo but he also said his work can wait. He’s either mega worried over you or he knows you’re about to say a lot of shit to ‘M’Lord.’

“I feel like they may not be as honest if you’re nearby, so I want to have a quick talk to Tsuki in particular.”

What a polite way to say ‘fuck you, I do want I want.’ He’s not wrong either. Unfortunately for Diavolo, he would like you better  _ if _ he keeps Lucifer around to be a very angry reminder to not be rude to the Prince of the Devildom.

Lucifer looks at the demon, then at you, then back to Diavolo.

“I understand, Lord Diavolo,” he gives up. When he looks back at you, though he seems very composed, there’s nothing but concern in his eyes. “I’ll be waiting for you at my office, meet me there when you’re done.” After saying that, the avatar of pride leaves the room in a painfully slow pace. You can feel his reluctance from here.

Immediately, the air of the room feels heavier. In the middle of the room there’s a fucking unicorn flag, and your eyes focus here. ‘ _ Calm down, Tsuki, you can probably keep it a polite conversation while explaining to him your traumas and dissatisfaction _ .  _ No point in angering the Prince of Hell. _ ’

“I have been concerned about your health after you fought with the two demons,” he starts. There is a hint of concern in his features. “Lucifer convinced me to wait for you to recover before talking. I’m not sure what his motives for doing so were.” You simply smile and nod; maybe if you just smile and nod to everything he says it will be over quickly. “I never expected you to fight demons with your bare hands! Rest assured they will no longer be any trouble to either you or Mephistopheles. In fact, there are lots of things I never imagined you would be able to pull off and you ended up doing anyway,” he laughs, making a wave of anger erupt within your core. He’s laughing, ignorant of all the trouble  _ he _ caused upon you. “You are a lot stronger than what you seem to be, right, Tsuki?”

“Yes.” Damn, there are so many things you want to tell him. But you must hold on the urge. ‘ _ This is a bad idea, just keep quiet, Tsuki. _ ’

“Like, the brothers from the House of Lamentation are finally united, right? It’s all thanks to your influence! I’m sure of it! Have you noticed Lucifer is very happy too? Now that his family is back together?” Why is he even talking about Lucifer all of a sudden? “I wonder if you are also happy about helping the family.”

‘ _ Okay, that’s the last straw. _ ’

“You made a mistake by telling Lucifer to fuck off,” you bark suddenly, now feeling the rage clouding your better judgment. Diavolo tilts his head in confusion and Barbatos gasps at your bad words.

“Why?”

“Because he would be a great reminder for me to watch my language.” You can feel it burning inside of you, all that wrath that can rival Satan’s, and you’d seen him angry for real last time. There’s no turning back now, you must tell Diavolo everything you think of him. “I didn’t volunteer for this bullshit and, I  _ certainly _ did not sign in to be a dysfunctional family therapist. If you wanted to bring a family together then you could just have hired someone that actually studied for it to do it for you.” Your words start to weigh with venom. Since both demons keep quiet for a second, you continue. “I do not take kindly to being played with.”

“I have never played with you,” Diavolo defends himself.

“Oh, but you did.” You cross your arms, shaking your head furiously. “Because I’m pretty damn sure it was you and your minion that sent me through that door to be murdered by Belphegor. I wonder how many times you had to do it. How many versions of ‘me’ died before you got the result you wanted? The truth is that you do not care about me as long I am alive.”

“Listen Tsuki, you should not speak to Lord Diavolo…”

“ _ Shut up!” _ you scream to Barbatos. His eyebrows rise, he doesn't look angry but doesn’t look too shocked either. He sure is someone that can control his emotions. “The conversation has not reached the kitchen yet!”

Barbatos is ready to talk back or to do something, but Diavolo puts a hand before him and tells him to let you finish speaking. The prince nods at you to continue.

“Like I was saying, I remember dying and I am  **NOT** fine, thank you for asking. I have nightmares about dying almost every single fucking day. I can’t stand to be close to Belphegor, and the knowledge that  _ you _ were the one behind all of this infuriates me! I am disappointed Diavolo, but not at you, I’m disappointed at  _ me _ , for allowing myself to have trusted you for even a second!” Your voice has escalated and now you’re basically screaming at him.

Diavolo keeps on watching you in silence for a minute.

“So, you think it was set up from the beginning?” he asks, calmly, never seeming to lose his cool. “Believe it or not, you were chosen by random, Lucifer picked you. While it is true that both me and Barbatos knew about Belphegor being imprisoned thanks to his hate of humans, we never started this program for you to be the one to free him. We had discussed what to do about him a couple of times, and we just stumbled on your ancestry background…” You scoff, loudly, not believing a single word. So, he admitted always knowing about Belphie but not you? He ‘ _ stumbled’ _ on you being Lilith’s descendant? Yeah, it sounds like a Hell of a lot of bullshit. “I can see now why you are not happy; I honestly didn’t expect you to remember going through being attacked by the avatar of Sloth.”

“OH!” The loud sound escapes you as it feels like a lightbulb lightens inside your head. And this time, both demons seem to get startled. “IT MAKES SO MUCH FUCKING SENSE NOW!” you exclaim, as loudly as possible. “Was it an oversight of your  **minion** or do you simply not care about human traumas to be bothered by it? Oh wait, I know, as long as I return from  _ death _ , using the ghost’s power, you can just get rid of my ‘old’ body and keep on living as normal. Because, I don’t know about you demons, but near-death experiences, and on my case,  _ actual _ death experiences, can fuck up a human’s mind a lot, and I wasn’t exactly normal before.”

You wonder since when he knew you were Lilith’s descendant. It seems so hard to believe he didn’t plan everything from the very beginning, it can’t be this fucking coincidental for Diavolo, it’s too perfect. No way. If so, why did he even wait so long to make you free Belphie? Lucifer may have been the one who selected you for this mess but he doesn’t seem to know about Diavolo’s machinations. Maybe Diavolo enchanted the file to make sure Lucifer picked it? Maybe  _ all _ the files he handled Lucifer had Lilith’s descendants, you can’t be the only one and you can see him doing it, making sure he could use someone with angel blood if possible. What if your bad luck is an actual curse? Who knows, maybe your parents sold you to this demon when you were a baby, that would explain their negligence and indifference towards you, their own kid. The fact Diavolo won’t ever answer any of those questions infuriates you even more. What a bastard.

“I can understand your anger now, you are feeling like this because you can remember everything and because you feel used,” Diavolo constated, as if he had unfolded some very complicated mystery.

“I don’t ‘feel’ used, I  _ was _ used, and don’t you fucking  _ dare _ pretend it was any different.” Being consumed by a wave of madness, you take a few steps forward and point at Dialovo’s chest. Not only pointing, you actually touch him, tapping him, the  _ oh, so powerful, _ demon prince. Zero fucks to be given. All the pact marks are burning on your skin, their power running through your body. Those pacts protected you before, they can do it again. “You think you can do whatever the Hell you want just because you are the Prince of Hell. And that you won’t have to face any consequences. Well, I  _ refuse _ to let it pass without letting you know what an awful, arrogant, and prepotent creature you are. And while I live, I want to remind you that you can’t just do whatever the fuck you want with zero consequences, even if the only consequence is a mad human talking a lot of shit to your face!”

The demon blinks, impassive.

“Is that all you wanted to say?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t think  _ I _ have the whole day . ”  _ This _ makes Barbatos grimace, he’s holding back to not snap at you. “But you can expect to know my every thought and concern in the essay I’ll hand you at the end of this year. Since now I  _ know _ I’ll end up alive, even if I must walk through the thorniest of the paths or be killed and resurrected a thousand times. And don’t be mistaken, I’m not planning on keeping on living for you or for  _ any _ of the demon brothers, I’ll do it for me and for spite. And because  **I hate you** more than any other demon that walks in this godforsaken hellhole that you call home.”

It feels so good to finally take it off your system. In all fairness, Belphegor spent a few millennia thinking the humans were the sole cause for his sister's death and he was kept locked in an attic by his own brother for months. He had a lot to resent. Not excusing the psycho murder, but he at least had  _ motives _ for what he had done. Diavolo was just cold, doing whatever he must to secure his goals. ‘Does making this human die and go back in time a dozen times until they come back alive work for our plan? Great, we are doing it!’ is what he probably thought.

“And if you don’t like it, you can just jump to another timeline that you like more. But I’ll warn you, you’ll find it difficult to find one where there’s a submissive ‘Tsuki’.”

You keep your furious eyes on Diavolo but he remains calm, neutral. He must see you as nothing but a fly, a dog who only barks but can’t bite. Less than nothing. You can’t hurt him in any significant way, so why would he even bother with what you say? Stepping back, you cross your arms again and sigh, feeling like all the anger is starting to die out.

“Won’t you say anything, M’lord?” Barbatos asks after a beat of silence. He looks just like his normal self, but his eyes don’t lie, he’s very upset.

“Thank you for being honest,” the Prince of Devildom speaks again, “I can see now what troubles you and how everything makes you feel. I must admit my own ignorance about humans didn’t let me realize how impacted you would be by what happened. Believe it or not, I take every  criticism  to heart, and I will review my actions based on your words and use it to reflect on my future actions, as I always strive to do better.”

You blink, apathetic.

“I don’t believe it.” Barbatos looks like he wants to graciously murder you with a knife that he must have hidden somewhere inside his vests. He looks like the type who carries hidden weapons. “Can I go? I’m done.”

“Just one last thing: I wanted to formally invite you to participate in the celebration of my birthday. In the Demon’s King Castle, in a month. That was the other main reason I wanted to speak to you.”

“Great. I’m not going.”

“You  _ can’t _ not go. This is a formal invitation from Lord Diavolo himself.” Barbatos explains, with a bit more of emotion than usual. So, you can say a lot of horrible things to his Lord face but  _ this _ is what he won’t tolerate?

“If I can’t refuse to go then it isn’t a ‘invitation’, it’s a ‘requisition.’ I know many words, you can use them when talking to me, y’know.”

“Are you mocking—?”

“Enough Barbatos,” Diavolo says, stopping his minion. “You are free to go now, Tsuki,” he says after a sigh.

Wonderful. Not looking behind once, you march to the door and close it with the most strength you can get, provoking a loud noise. They won’t kill you anyway, so you walk proudly back home, feeling a lot lighter now. And a massive headache forming.

**Lucifer POV**

They were taking too long. Lucifer had already finished his work. He paces through his office. Why are they taking so long? Shaking his head, he calms himself and decides to wait behind the door of the council. He takes his bag and locks his office door. He’s about to check his D.D.D. when he hears someone calling him.

“Lucifer?” That’s Barbatos’s voice. “What are you still doing here?”

The avatar of pride turns to stare at both Barbatos and Diavolo. They must be going to Diavolo’s office. He feels a bit lost for a second, looking at his two colleagues without understanding what he’s seeing.

“Where’s Tsuki?”

“Oh? They didn’t come to meet with you?” Diavolo seems surprised. “They left a couple minutes ago.”

‘ _ What _ .’

Lucifer feels like someone dropped a bucket of cold water all over him. His heart suddenly starts beating a lot faster.

“Excuse me, then, my Lord.” Lucifer starts walking, passing by both demons in a hurry. “I must go fetch the human.”

Lord Diavolo tells him goodbye. He also says something else that Lucifer doesn’t quite catch, since he’s already so far. Something about Tsuki being irritated. Why is this human so hard to deal with?

He grabs his D.D.D. and dials their number, half of him not expecting them to answer. After a few seconds, they answer the phone and the first thing he hears is them cursing under their breath.

“I know you won’t believe me, but I completely forgot to meet you,” Tsuki says. There is an edge to their voice, it’s not their normal tone. ‘ _ I knew I shouldn’t have left them alone _ .’

“Details, where are you now? I just left RAD,” Lucifer asks.

“Almost home. Also don’t worry, I look scarier than any demon. I may even  _ fight _ someone by accident if they look funny at me.”

“ _ Don’t you dare! _ ” he warns. Do they never learn?! “What are you even talking about?” He does not slow his pace. “What happened between you and Lord Diavolo?”

Lucifer hears a series of curses, but he doesn’t feel like they are directed  _ at _ him. Then a groan of irritation.

“I don’t know how to tell you this, but  _ your _ Lord and his  _ evil _ butler planned and used  _ my murder _ to their convenience,” they scream.

“What do you mean?” he asks in a calmer manner. He’s not sure what made them so pissed off like this but they are certainly overthinking things. Did they even tell Lord Diavolo this? Oh, Hell, they did. They definitely did. Lucifer was right, he knew Tsuki would end up blaming Lord Diavolo and Barbatos when they said they wanted to forgive Belphie. Humans tend to blame others for things that happen to them, and if they are not blaming Belphie, then, they must be blaming someone else.

“Oh,  _ please _ , Lucifer, I know you are smarter than this! From all the demons that live in the House of Lamentation you are the  _ only one _ who could think about it a bit more coldly,” they explain, still terribly angry. “I can’t help but wonder how many ‘me’ died until Diavolo and Barbatos got the outcome they wanted. I don’t care if he wanted to bring your family together to make you happy in a fucking twisted way; if he wanted to have all the avatars of sin under his control or if he is just using any means necessary to archive his model of ‘peace’ between the Realms or whatever. I. Don’t. Care.” They stop momentarily to take a deep breath. “I can’t forgive that weirdo for what he made me go through and I had to let him know it!”

Did Lucifer hear that right? They really did call Lord Diavolo a weirdo? What’s a ‘weirdo,’ someone strange? Lucifer wishes they would use less human slang when talking to him.

“Tsuki, don’t tell me you said all of this to Lord Diavolo rudely like that.”

A laugh was  _ not _ the answer Lucifer was expecting. It kind of sounded like Belphie’s laugh, cold and devoid of emotions.

“If I told him that? Bitch! I told him even more! All the fucked-up shit he did, I made  _ sure _ to tell him. You can bet your ass there’s nothing I forgot to say.”

‘ _ Does they really need to use this many bad words? They curse more than demons. _ ’

Lucifer actually trips and stops walking for a minute (‘ _ Have I ever tripped before? _ ’). Does this human have no fear? Fighting two demons with their bare hands both in a whim and for something they believe in? Sure, it makes sense, he should have expected it, they are quite hot blooded. But challenging  _ Lord Diavolo _ and saying whatever’s on their mind directly to his face? That’s… Wait, now that he thinks about it, if there’s someone that would do it, that someone is Tsuki.

He starts thinking hard and fast. But he doesn’t even know where to begin. Truth be said he had come to that conclusion a day after Belphie got free. He wanted to ask Lord Diavolo if he planned the whole thing and since when. What made him search Tsuki’s descendance in the first place. Something was holding him back from asking those questions. Either his loyalty or his wish for things to just calm down so he could live with a bit of peace.  _ ‘Ah, I did it again, ignoring my problems.’ _

But, even though he tries hard to, he can’t find a way to ease Diavolo’s influence in this matter. Lucifer is  _ disgusted _ by the thought of him using Tsuki to fix everything wrong in his life. That’s his problem, his business. Tsuki has nothing to do with it, they didn’t sign up for it. But what should he even say? Lucifer feels stuck between a rock and a hard place. 

He hears a sigh coming from his D.D.D.. Now coming back to his senses, he’s stopped in the middle of a street. How long has he been lost in thoughts?

“Listen, Tsuki,” he starts, though, he doesn’t know where he’s going this time, “about what Lord Diavolo did, you have to understand…”

“I don’t know why I am telling you all this,” Tsuki cuts him off, their voice weaker now. Heavy with tiredness. “Of course, Diavolo’s lapdog will try to find a way to defend him from all the shit he does!” they explode at him before he can even attempt to explain his side.

Lucifer is, strangely, not angry at the way he was called, but he does not like the way they took what he was going to say as a way of defending Diavolo (even though he wanted to at first). He wasn’t going to defend him in this matter.

“Tsuki, listen to me first, I was going to say—”

“I don’t want to hear you say  _ a single word _ in favor of that demon,” they warn. On any other occasion he would be offended. “And don’t you  _ dare _ try to reconcile us or ease what I said. I  _ don’t want _ to be on good terms with him!”

Well, they keep making things more and more difficult for him, don’t they?

“For the last time,” he growls with anger now, “let me talk—”

“I’m home, bye Lucifer.”

They hang on him.  _ They hang on him! _ How dare they?! No one ever hung up on him before!

The fury Lucifer feels by being ignored makes him run all the way back to the House. He doesn’t even attempt to call again, he knows Tsuki won’t answer this time. But they  _ will _ hear him when Lucifer finds them. Tsuki can’t escape the lecture they are getting.

Entering his home, Lucifer checks the location app for a second. They are already in their room. Good. He goes straight here and bangs at the door.

“Tsuki! I know you’re here! Open this door right now or I’ll break it down.”

He sighs. ‘ _ So much for attempting to knock at the door. _ ’

No response for a full minute. He tries the doorknob. It’s surprisingly unlocked, so he enters. The demon is met with an empty room. He takes a look around and sees that their backpack and coat are on top of their bed. 

“Tsuki! Stop hiding! You are going to hear me now!” Lucifer calls out again.

Nothing.

He checks the bathroom, since the door is open. Not here. His anger starts dying a little by now and it is giving space for another emotion to take over. He searches through the room, under the bed, inside the wardrobe. They aren’t anywhere. There’s something very similar to fear that Lucifer is starting to feel. He opens the location app again; it shows their room.

_ ‘It cannot be _ .’

Lucifer approaches the bed and takes the RAD coat, furiously checking the pockets. In one of them, he finds Tsuki’s D.D.D., with the unmistakable frog themed cape.

“Shit…” He lets the coat fall back onto the bed. “Where are they?!”

Alright, Lucifer has to admit what he is feeling is one hundred percent panic now. It isn’t even the panic he felt last week, when he saw them injured and bleeding after a fight, and Mammon had gotten them already. But now? He doesn’t know where they are for the first time, so there’s a sense of urgency in his panic.

He must find that human, now. Immediately. What if they ran away? It doesn’t matter how many pacts they have if some stronger demon manages to catch them. They can get seriously hurt. Or worse, eaten. Killed.  _ Again _ . He shakes the thought, no, he can’t even think about it now… If they run into problems, how will he find them now?! And they  _ will _ bump into some sort of problem, it's  _ Tsuki _ , that human is basically a problem magnet. Honestly, it is a miracle they are still alive.

Lucifer grabs his D.D.D. again with shaking hands, and opens the Demon Brothers’ group chat.

**Lucifer**

_ Attention brothers, Tsuki has disappeared. _

_ I can’t find them anywhere. They came home but then vanished and left their D.D.D. behind, in their room. _

_ Everyone, stop what you’re doing and go search for them. RIGHT NOW! _

_ Even if you have to turn this whole house upside down! _

Seconds after sending the messages all his brothers start spamming the group chat with worrisome messages and stickers. Good, they saw it. Lucifer leaves the room in a hurry.


	8. The Last Of The Real Ones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Last Of The Real Ones by Fall out Boys.  
> ****Updates may become slower.
> 
> Have two two parts from the song:  
> "I know this whole damn city thinks it needs you. But not as much as I do, as much as I do."
> 
> "I will shield you from the waves if they find you. I will protect you, I will protect you. Just tell me, tell me, tell me I, I am the only one. Even if it's not true, even if it's not true."

**Chapter 8 – The Last Of The Real Ones**

Stupid Diavolo. Stupid Lucifer. Stupid demons.

Reflecting over the day events, maybe you shouldn’t have snapped at Lucifer. He must be searching for you now, wanting to give you the longest lecture of your life about how to respect Lord Diavolo, that damned demon. At least you told him everything you wanted to. Lucifer can say anything he wants but he can’t make you unsay what you said to Diavolo; that is a small victory you’ll forever hold. 

There are many places to hide in the House of Lamentation, but you panicked after dropping your backpack and coat in your room and hid yourself in the planetarium. It’s a very nice place. Everything is made of stone. Replicas of planets are pinned on the ceiling, and they have lights inside. The whole ceiling is also covered in fake stars. You don’t actually know what they are, you just know there are dots that glow in the dark. Though it’s a pretty place, there’s nothing to do here. Some models of constellations and similar curiosities are distributed throughout the room. Once you’ve read them all and have looked around, your objectives run out. You don’t study demon astrology, so maybe the stars you see in the sky are actually fake. No one comes here. You only know it exists because Mammon and Satan took you here in a ‘tour’ through the house. Believing it to be the safest place to hide thanks to the ignorance of its owners, you hide here, burying yourself into the dark blue sofa. Only after a few minutes you remember Lilith’s old room and groan.  _ That _ place, no one would check, especially since only Lucifer and Beel know of its existence and maybe Lucifer doesn’t know you know about it. Damn. Stupid panic.

But you don’t leave. Lucifer must be back by now, and when he realizes you are not answering the damn phone he’ll be pissed and rave the whole house down looking for you. You kind of wish you can distract yourself with the D.D.D., but it was for the best to leave it in your room, it must be ringing and buzzing to no end. While you don’t regret a single thing, you know there’s no hiding from the demons. Sooner or later one of them will remember the planetarium and come to check here. And even if you manage to stay hidden in the shadows of the place, at one point you’ll have to leave to eat or to go to the bathroom. Tomorrow there’s no RAD, but sure as Hell, you’ll have to leave at one point. And one of them  _ will _ find you, no matter when or where you go, you always seem to bump into someone.

Hugging your knees, the tears start rolling down your face. Staying angry takes a lot of work and energy. After the anger passes, you just feel exhausted. The fears you hadn’t felt earlier now mix with the anxiety of being found by a pissed off Lucifer. You didn’t turn on the lights, but now that the place is so dark, you regret it. It reminds you of your nightmares. They are always in that dark and messy attic you hate so much. Rolling on the sofa you try to focus on the bright dots in the ceiling. ‘ _ This isn’t the attic _ .’ You repeat to yourself. ‘ _ No one is going to kill me. _ ’

You cry in the dark for a long time. Your eyes are damp but you have given up on cleaning the tears away, every time you do a new wave just comes again. Honestly, what are these tears for? Fear? Anxiety? Lonely? Hurt? It feels like there is a giant soup of emotions mixed inside of you and you need to cry all these feelings out. Those immortal demons would never understand, you wish there were a human in this place to whom you could vent to. Someone that is not that damn sorcerer. Maybe you should see one of the angels, but at the same time, you feel ashamed of showing them such a weak side of yourself. Looks like Lucifer isn’t the only one with a huge sin of pride. ‘ _ Shit _ .’

The door of the planetarium opens and you can feel your heart start beating frenetically. You don’t even attempt to try hiding, you just turn your head to the entrance and are met with Mammon. He must have noticed your watery eyes because his expression goes from relief to concern in less than three seconds. He closes the door behind him and turns on the planetarium’s lights. The decorative globes all shine brightly. You close your eyes, the brightness bothering the pupils that were dilated to see better in the dark.

“What happened?” Mammon sits close to you on the sofa. “Lucifer is going mad looking for you. Did you say something you shouldn’t to Diavolo?”

“Woah, have I found a place where his demonic powers can’t find me?” you laugh without emotion. Then you sigh.

Sitting on the sofa, hugging your knees again, you debate on what to do. Mammon should tell Lucifer he found you. Looking back at the avatar of greed, you see genuine concern in his face, the rare serious side of Mammon. Something takes over and you tell Mammon everything that happened, all the rude stuff you said to Diavolo, and the angry phone call with Lucifer. You vomit all the words nonstop to him. When you’re finished there are new tears going down your cheeks. Mammon remains calm and quiet all the time, which is honestly a miracle. He pats your head and dries your cheeks when you are done.

“That’s some serious stuff,” he says after a long time. His D.D.D. starts buzzing in his pockets. Mammon gets it and curses. “Tsk, they want to know where I am and if I found you. What should I do?”

Ah, he’s willing to cover you up, isn’t he? Mammon would go against his brothers for you.  _ ‘Ah, shit, I should start treating him better.’ _

“Tell Lucifer you found me,” you say, shocking Mammon. “I don’t want you to be punished for helping me.”

Mammon is unsure, and he looks at his D.D.D. a bit reluctantly. You hold his arms and nod at him, so he curses under his breath again and starts typing a message.

“I’m not sure on how to help you,” he comments while typing in the group chat. You peek at his words, which are rather short and direct to the point texts. “But I also can’t say I’m on Diavolo’s side. What he made you go through, it’s pretty unforgivable, you are right on it. If you are having issues because of what happened, you can bet I take them seriously. Uh,  _ we _ , take it seriously,” he quickly corrects himself. “Do you want me to talk to Lucifer?”

Mammon can be so sweet; he makes you feel so bad for teasing him so much just like his brothers now.

“Thank you, Mammon, it means a lot. You have no idea of how  _ much _ it means to me…” You hug him for a few seconds, and some new tears dampen your face again. Mammon only pats you on the back, in a shy manner. After a minute, you sigh deeply and pull away. “But. What are you going to tell him?” You frown, worried.

In the next second, however, the door flies open, startling both you and Mammon. You are afraid the door is going to fall down or be broken in half, given the sheer strength that opened it. Surprisingly, it looks intact. Lucifer enters the planetarium with large steps, then he stops when he sees you on the sofa.

“Finally… I found you,” he says, out of breath. There’s a bit of sweat on his forehead, and he’s panting, as if he was running. The avatar of pride is still in his RAD uniform too. Did he really…spend all this time only looking for you? Lucifer is either very mad or very worried, and you can’t decide which one is worse.

He walks towards you, but Mammon stands up and stops Lucifer before he gets too close. The oldest demon’s brows furrow deeply and Mammon seems to swallow in fear.

“Uh… Tsuki has been here the entire time, so they weren’t in any danger!” Mammon says, voice a bit too high. Lucifer keeps staring at him as if he wants to burn him to ashes. “I also talked to them,” the greedy demon continues, a bit more seriously. “Tsuki told me what happened. If you want to talk to them, can’t you wait until they calm down and eat something first?” Lucifer stays impassive, his arms crossed over his chest, but Mammon doesn’t back away. “You were worried about them, right? Well, they are not in any danger, just need to calm themselves a bit more. And maybe you could calm down  _ yourself _ a bit too Lucifer, you look a little over the edge!” Lucifer’s eyes squint. “Haha, don’t look at me like that! After dinner! I’ll convince them to go talk to you and sort out this mess after dinner!”

Lucifer tears his eyes off Mammon for a moment to look at you sitting on the sofa hugging your knees, frightened like a cornered animal. Lucifer closes his eyes and sighs, pinching at the bridge of his nose and dropping his shoulders.

“Alright, but after dinner they better appear at my study,” he agrees.

The avatar of pride sends you one last stare, a less angry one, this is more…concerned perhaps, before going out. He didn’t bother with the door either.

Mammon sighs heavily and falls onto the sofa.

“Damn, he’s so intense.”

“You did well.” You show the avatar of greed a timid smile.

He smiles at you.

“I bought you some time, so use it to calm down and try not to piss him off again. You know how he is when the subject is Lord Diavolo, Tsuki.”

“Yeah, I know,” you sigh.

You sit beside Mammon, both relieved and worried for later. About a minute passes and the other demons come to the planetarium too, all worried about you. After having to suffer with their overprotection, they convince you to go downstairs, to the kitchen, so everyone can have something to eat. Even though your stomach hurts so much that you don’t feel like eating anything, you still let yourself be dragged to the kitchen.

After eating and chilling in your room after a bath, you relax enough to brace yourself to face Lucifer. At least after yelling at both Lord Diavolo and Lucifer and crying for an hour, you are emotionally drained. It’s the best time to just sit and let Lucifer lecture you until the sun rises. Or until morning, since there’s no sun in the Devildom.

Mammon accompanies you to the Study door and knocks on it for you. He offers to stay but you refuse. This is your mess; you should clean it up. You thank Mammon again and enter the study alone.

Lucifer, apparently, is also a mess. He is sitting on his big fancy chair with a mountain of papers and books over his desk and a bottle of Demonus. He put on a simple black shirt but he is hardly in his perfect ensemble.

“You came.”

“I did. Let’s just finish this already, I’m tired,” you say, bringing a chair to sit in front of Lucifer. You feel sick in your stomach again, but the anxiety is still better than the never-ending anger that was eating you up earlier. The only downside is that now you feel like throwing up.

Lucifer stops working, leaving the pen over this table and leans against his chair, crossing his arms. He looks tired too. You’re starting to think he uses his work as a way to punish himself and to ignore his real, more urgent, problems.

“Is there anything else you wish to say, before I start?” he asks. There’s a bit of annoyance in his voice, but he’s willing to hear you say something in your defense before starting the lecture.

“Not really.” You sit comfortably on your chair too. “I’ll just make a recap for you: yes, I am blaming Diavolo for everything that happened to me. Yes, I did say it to him, and a bunch of other stuff that was stuck in my throat, including the fact that I  _ hate _ him now.” Lucifer keeps looking at you with a serious and impassive expression so you continue. “He tried to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal but I let him know it was and IS a big deal to me. That’s basically it. I also said a lot of bad words because I wanted to. Pretty sure his evil butler hates me now. If you want to know everything I said, don’t worry, because I know Diavolo tells you everything. I mean, if, you didn’t already ask him about it.”

Lucifer shakes his head.

“I didn’t. I wanted to ask  _ you _ first. And noted. Anything else?”

“I shouldn't have answered your call. I only did it because I legit forgot about you in my madness haze.”

“Understandable.” He’s being very direct to the point too. “I take it that you don’t want to apologize for anything?” Oh, is this why he was being quiet?

You think for a second just because.

“No.”

“No,” he repeats, “I see.”

“Ah, just one last thing before you start lecturing me, if I may,” you ask, and Lucifer nods. “If you are going to defend Lord Diavolo I would rather not listen to it. I’ll take anything else, just please, don’t take his side and rub it in my face, I think I may cry again.” Even the mention of crying makes you feel like crying. ‘ _ Damn, I was never this much of a cry baby before.’ _

His stoic, calm and unreadable expression is starting to make you nervous. You can’t tell what’s going on in his head.

“If it were any of my brothers or any other situation, I would punish you.”

You blink, slowly processing what he just said. You feel numb, confused. What did he just say? You don’t think you understood it right.

“I’m sorry, can you repeat?” you ask, as politely as possible.

“I said, if it were  _ any _ other situation, I would  _ punish _ you,” he repeats, slower this time, saying it word by word for you.

The numbness starts going away as you process his words. Lucifer is being one hundred percent serious. Truth be said, after the punishment he gave you for that fight you don’t want to suffer through any other of his punishments. If he was sadistic enough to make you cook and clean with several injuries on your body instead of resting, what _ the Hell  _ would he even do to you when you’re healthy? You don’t wanna know. Nope. Suddenly, you are feeling more awake, like life just threw a bucket of cold water over you to show the gravity of your actions.

“Alright, I’ll start talking now and you’ll listen.” He grabs the bottle and takes a long sip, direct from the bottle. Wow, you thought he was too well mannered to drink like that. You have realized, a while ago, Lucifer lowers some of his walls when he’s around you. He wouldn’t drink directly from a bottle in front of anyone else. “It pains me that you think I blindly follow Diavolo’s every order.”

“And you don’t?”

His eyes narrow.

“Interrupt me again and there  _ will _ be punishment.” You pass a hand on your lips, mimicking closing them with a zipper. You can feel real fear now and decide to take this lecture more seriously. “Alright. Like I was saying, it pains me that you see me as no more than Diavolo's right hand man. While it is true that I work to help Lord Diavolo achieve his goals and wishes, we are two different demons, and I am, actually, capable of thinking for myself without his influence or orders.”

There’s something that isn’t quite anger in his words, more like disappointment. Or hurt. He’s hurt.  _ ‘Of course, Diavolo’s lapdog would try to find a way to defend him from all the shit he does! _ ’ The words you said earlier are coming back to your head and the regret you feel from saying them is sour and heavy. You know Lucifer is more than just Diavolo’s servant, but you were  _ angry _ and dying to say shit to think straight. There was no reason to speak to Lucifer that way, he has only been trying to help you after everything went to shit. And that was the thanks you gave him, insulting him and hiding yourself in the planetarium to avoid facing the demon after you fuck up.

“You seem to think I don’t notice things but I notice  _ everything _ ,” Lucifer continues. “Do you think I do not see how you flinch in fear every time I am a bit angrier than usual or in my demon form?” ‘ _ Shit, he knows _ .’ “That’s why I have been trying to control my anger better when I’m around you, I don’t want to see you so scared again, and especially not because of  _ me _ .” He stops to sigh, a mix of anger and disappointment in his voice. And takes another sip from the bottle. He backed off rather quickly when he saw the crying mess you were back in the planetarium. “Of course, I knew Diavolo and Barbatos were behind that time loop. Of course, I reached the conclusion he used you to open Belphie’s door. That door was sealed in a way no human or demon could open, which means only someone with angel blood—in this case,  _ you _ —or Lilith’s spirit could possibly open it. Barbatos can see the future, he knew exactly what was going to happen and he still did it because he knew there was a chance of you surviving. I knew  _ all _ of it, since that day.” He pauses to breathe. “What do you think my opinion on all of this is?”

Your lips press together. Is he expecting an answer? He told you to keep quiet. He stares at you and you can swear the demon can see through your soul. Lucifer coughs, impatiently; looks like he does want an answer.

“Uh…” Honestly, you don’t know what to think, it appears like you misunderstood him completely here. Sinking into the soft chair, you look around the study, desperate for an answer you won’t find on the walls nor the shelves. “I hope…you are not ok with it…”

He scoffs, loudly.

“I’m not!” he yells, then takes another long sip of the drink before slamming it back at the desk. You flinch at the sudden outburst, as if you weren’t already feeling cornered here. “How could I possibly be  _ okay _ with my Lord sending the human I swore to protect to be killed by the hands of my own brother!?” Lucifer is still yelling and you grasp at the chair with both hands, not because of the volume of his voice, but at the amount of raw emotion he’s showing you. “I saw you dead on the floor of my own house! I was holding myself back to not  _ kill _ Belphegor with my bare hands! I tried to not focus on it too much and just enjoy the fact that you are still here, alive, with me, with  _ us _ , but I can’t just forget it. When I lay myself to sleep, I remember it, every night. I wanted to ask Diavolo about it, about how long he had planned it, I really did, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask. Because I didn’t feel like I would like hearing the answer.”

Only now do you notice he has been calling the Prince of Devildom by Diavolo and not Lord Diavolo. ‘ _ I need to apologize right now. _ ’ You should never have assumed Lucifer was going to take Diavolo’s side at all times. After all, he did hide Belphegor so he wouldn’t be a menace and end up being punished by Diavolo. The fact that he was also greatly affected by your brief death like his brothers is reassuring as well, makes you feel like those demons legitimately care about you. Something you often see yourself doubting. Curse that damn anxiety, always making you assume the worst.

Considering how Lucifer pretends his problems don’t exist until they go away or cannot be ignored any longer, refuses to ask for help, has poor anger management and is forced to fix other people’s problems, he’s pretty damn similar to you. Is that why you like him so much? Do the similarities draw you together? You certainly feel this way with Satan and Levi.

Some time passes and no one has talked again. Is it even ok to speak now? Lucifer passes a hand over his hair and face and sighs into his hands. This display of vulnerability leaves you stunned. Your heart aches, you want to just kneel and apologize to him until morning. Angel blood? You feel like you have demons’ blood. You are no angel. The air of the Devildom must be making you a demon too. You studied it in RAD, the miasma present in the air of the Devildom can turn humans and angels into demons if they stay here for a long time. Supposedly, one year isn’t enough time. But there’s no way to tell if it’s already affecting you or not.

“So—” you start. Lucifer takes his hands off his eyes to look at you. His hair is falling in his face now. You take a deep breath to calm yourself. “Sorry. I’m really sorry. I got you all wrong, I should never have assumed such horrible things about you, Lucifer. I was very angry and not thinking right.”

He sighs again, not looking angry…that’s good. Lucifer puts one elbow over his desk and rests his face on his fist.

“I told you once I want to protect you, but you seem to always forget it,” he laments, looking away, at one of the walls. “Or maybe ignore it.”

“I’m really sorry, I let my anger take the best of me,” you apologize again, now looking down. Some meditation with Satan is in order. He did say he likes you ( _ 'More than once, stupid Tsuki’ _ ), but you simply believed you are no match for Diavolo ( _ 'Tsuki, what do you think is Lucifer’s type?’ 'Lord Diavolo, of course.’ _ )

“I’ll only ask you this one time: do you trust me, Tsuki?” You raise your eyes to look at Lucifer. He’s looking at you with a lot of sincerity in his crimson eyes. Deep inside of yourself, you want to, you want to trust in him and in his brothers. Only trusting yourself is hard, and lonely, and you feel like you hit your limit. Everything hits too hard; everything makes you too angry and want to cry. This isn’t the kind of life you want to have. There are still six more months left in the Devildom for the exchange program, this can’t continue like that, or you may lose your mind for real.

Still, you take a minute to reflect. You can’t believe he’s possibly lying, not after this emotional outburst. Lucifer showed you a genuine side of him today. His hurt, and how even his loyalty to Diavolo can falter. You can only hope you don’t regret trusting the demons again.

“I do.”

“Do you really?”

‘ _ Why do you ask if you are going to question me? _ ’

“I do now,” you repeat, firmer this time. “I want to trust you and your brothers, Lucifer. I’m tired of feeling alone,” you say sincerely. 

Lucifer nods, seeming to believe you this time.

“If you want, I can keep this conversation a secret from Diavolo.” 

“You would?” He only stares at you. Oh right, the trust thing. “Please, do. I don’t want him knowing we both resent him and are more skeptical of him now. Just me is enough.”

“I don’t want him to find out either. It could lower his opinion of me and damage my reputation.”

“Always prideful,” you comment playfully. To your surprise, he smiles weakly and nods. Lucifer only shows his soft and emotional side to you. Probably to maintain his strict face with his brothers, since he thinks he must have their respect by fear and authority rather than just being honest with them. Such a troublesome demon.

A silence falls between you. It seems neither of you knows how to progress anymore. When you think about standing up and leaving, Lucifer speaks again.

“Diavolo wanted to invite you to his birthday party, did he?”

“He did, but I don’t want to go.”

“Well, I’m afraid that you have no choice. He told me he wants you to be the guest of honor.”

“Yeah, I know, that sucks.” Lucifer is staring at you with something in his eyes. “What? I told him that I didn’t want to go and his butler got all pissy.”

Lucifer's mouth goes open and you see his expression morph into something akin to terror.

“Unbelievable.” That’s all he says. Cool, both him and the butler know that it’s a big offense or something to not go to a Diavolo party when he specifically invites you. Another troublesome demon, seems you  _ have _ to go anyway.

“So…I guess we are done now?” You stand up slowly, not wanting to wait for a reply. “I’m really tired, so I’m going back to my room to sleep.”

Lucifer’s eyebrows raise slightly.

“Your room? Are you sure?”

“Yes, I want to sleep in my room tonight.”

“Do as you wish,” he says, simply. Lucifer grabs the demonus bottle, but it’s empty now, so he just puts it back on top of the desk. “But if you face problems sleeping again, know that I’ll leave my door open for you.”

“Thank you, Lucifer. Have a good night. I’m really sorry for everything.”

He sighs.

“Don’t worry about it, if I hadn’t been avoiding this topic for so long it wouldn’t have ended like this. I’m glad we managed to clean everything up,” he sighs, falling back into his chair. “Good night, Tsuki. I’ll hang there a little longer and maybe empty another bottle.”

You nod, tell him goodnight again and leave the study with an aching heart. Looks like you’re crying yourself to sleep again today.


	9. Hourglass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I’m falling through the hourglass. And I don’t think I’ll ever make it back. So I throw stones at walls I’ll never climb. Victim to the sands of time." (...) "Time is strange, it’s ever flowing never going back. It moves, but only in one way. Turn the page, look back at what you wrote. Do you still feel the same? I’ll bet your mind has changed."
> 
> Hourglass by Set it Off

**Chapter 9 – Hourglass**

The nightmares aren’t kind, but the tiredness of the day makes it easier to fall asleep. So what if you wake up four times during the night? No big deal… (‘ _That’s unhealthy_ .’) After every nightmare you sing I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead and Midnight Thoughts until you fall back asleep, every time in a different mood: angrily, scared, upset, tired. Fun times ( _'I'm dying.’_ ). Only early in the morning does some good sleep come to you.

The notification sounds from the D.D.D. wake you up at eleven in the morning. Still very sleepy and tired, you eye the several new texts. Those demons are _addicted_ to their phones. Nothing would please you more than to spend the whole day in your room, but those pesky demons won’t let you. Your eyes must be red and puffy since they feel heavy after another night of crying your feelings out. Debating on whether or not to call a sick day, you remember the last time you tried to pull that off, which didn’t end well. Still. You are famous for your bad decisions.

**Tsukishima**

_Hey guys, good morning._

_Sorry, but I am feeling a bit under the weather today._

_I would like to spend the day at my room, would be so rad if you guys respect my choice!_

‘ _Heh. Rad. LOL That place isn’t rad. It’s my personal Hell.’_

That sounds innocent enough, right? Right. Leaving the annoying D.D.D. behind, you go to the bathroom to take care of yourself and feel your stomach starting to get upset thanks to lack of food. It’s late in the afternoon. Honestly, how hadn’t they broken down your door yet? Maybe you can convince one of the boys to bring you something to eat. You really don’t feel like leaving your room. Meditation should be good to organize your thoughts and make a very critical analysis of how to proceed now. Obviously you can’t just challenge Diavolo, he is the fucking Prince of Hell. You also don’t know the extent of Lucifer’s loyalty to him; is it like a pact? Would they fight each other? Even so, you really don’t want to be the reason for a civil war in the Devildom. You want to ask Lucifer about the limitations of his ‘loyalty’ but maybe you should let the Diavolo thing die down more first.

There’s also Belphie (‘ _Urg’_ ), you can’t avoid him forever. You must think of a way to get closer to him that is comfortable and safe for you. Today a lot of thinking is in order… 

When you leave the bathroom and pick some clean clothes to change into, you hear some noise coming from your door. It makes you jump, startled. Then, several voices can be heard. ‘ _Holy Hell, it didn’t take them five minutes to go banging at my door?!’_ Someone turned on the doorknob and all seven demons (‘ _What is Belphie even doing here?!_ ’) invade your room, making you scream. How did you forget to lock it? Well, it could be worse, you could have been in the middle of changing clothes or half naked.

“Are you sick?” Mammon asks, being followed by all his brothers. Then everyone starts talking at the same time, you don’t know who is saying what.

“How are you feeling?”

“Everything alright?”

“Why didn’t you tell us you are sick?”

“How did you even catch a human sickness in the Devildom?”

“Are you hungry?”

“Brothers, can you let them speak?!” Lucifer walks in the middle and ends the constant mess of voices and questions. As they go silent, you use the opportunity to talk.

“Ok, I’m not sick, calm down, all of you,” you start. “I’m having a rough time.” A sigh escapes you as you admit it. “Yesterday I was overwhelmed by my emotions and I said some things I deeply regret.” You avert your eyes from Lucifer’s. “So, I just want to stay in my room today to collect my thoughts. I’m very tired and I don’t feel like doing anything. I hope I can get some collaboration from y’all.”

Not a single one of the demon brothers look like they believe you.

 _“Please_ , I just want _one day_ when I don’t have to interact with any demons,” you beg, resisting the urge to go down on your knees. Why is that so much to ask?

The brothers start looking at each other, unsure of what to do. After a minute, they all turn to Lucifer, who has his arms crossed and his gaze fixed on another place. He’s using his casual clothes and doesn't look like a mess, so, you hope he had a better night than you. Seeing the way all his younger brothers are looking at the eldest is like they are saying ‘so leader, what do we do?’

“Very well,” Lucifer says after a moment. “Don’t bother Tsuki today. Someone should bring them meals and that’s it,” he decides. “Let them rest.”

The demon brothers settle down, feeling defeated. Well, at least they listen to Lucifer.

“They do look like they need a little space,” Levi comments. Good to know you can count on _someone_ to back you up. “Extroverted normies like you guys don’t understand what it's like to be an introvert.”

Satan walks to you, however, with a worried expression and a hand resting on his chest.

“Are you really well?” His voice is full of worry too.

“Only tired. And in need of some ‘me’ time. Since I feel like I have like, zero privacy here. No matter where I go, I bump into someone. And no matter where I am, someone will come demanding my attention and I can’t say ‘no.’”

Satan looks away guiltily. ‘ _Why Satan, I’m not talking about YOU. Look at me, Satan, you are the best demon in this fucking house_ ,’ you want to say. But that would create chaos. You’ll just text him, making him happy. The other demons are looking a bit uncomfortable too. _‘Good, maybe they’ll take it seriously this time_ . _’_

“Wow, really? You must have some mad patience to put up with my brothers,” Belphie comments. Honestly, you have forgotten he was even here.

“They don’t,” says Lucifer and Mammon at the same time. They both stare at each other, confused and surprised.

“Alright, but if you change your mind, you can call me,” Satan says and you can hear Mammon, Asmo and Levi say ‘Or me!’ “I’ll bring you something to eat, what do you want?”

“As long as you bring some coffee and no poison, I’m fine.”

Satan laughs. He turns and helps Lucifer to drag everyone out from your room.

“And answer our texts!” Mammon orders, just before being forced outside.

You roll your eyes, maybe you’ll reply to their endless texts or maybe not. Sighing, you lay back in bed. You may have dosed off, because it feels like you rested your eyes for a second and there’s someone knocking on your door already. At least they didn’t open it. Oh, shoot, it’s Satan with the food, isn’t it?

Jumping out of the bed, you open the door to greet Satan. He smiles lovelily at you before entering and leaving a tray of food, coffee and water on top of the table.

“I brought what the humans call ‘brunch,’” he announces proudly. None of the brothers are big on human culture with the exception of Levi (and his otaku knowledge), so sometimes you are forced to explain a meme or an expression. The other day you showed a picture of nicely made brunch to Satan and Asmo but had to explain what brunch is. Looks like the avatar of wrath had an interest in it, since he doesn’t mind cooking and loves learning new things.

It really did have some variety. A few different biscuits, bread with eggs, a bowl with a colorful salad and an Ominous Pear. Which is edible when raw, different from the Poison Apple—that would definitely kill you. Strangely, the poison apple is edible by humans when cooked. Crazy Devildom food.

“Thank you, Satan.”

“Are you _really_ sure you’re ok? Don’t you want to talk about anything?” Satan insists once again. “Mammon told us you had some disagreements with both Lord Diavolo and Lucifer yesterday…”

You sigh.

“I’m ok. Before talking I want to think critically about some things, but you guys are always around, so I don’t have time for my own thoughts! And I must say I’m in a desperate need to organize my thoughts. At this rate, I may even replace you as the avatar of wrath.”

Satan laughs briefly.

“I see, in this case I must protect my place as the rightful Avatar of Wrath!” He nods, though, he doesn’t look all that happy. “I wish there were a way to help you more. If you change your mind, I’m always free to hear your thoughts.”

“Thanks.” Satan is _such_ a nice guy, why couldn’t you fall in love with Satan, instead of Lucifer? That would make literally everything easier. “We can start meditating again tomorrow,” you offer. That seems to get a smile from him.

“Alright. I’ll leave you alone now.”

True to his words, Satan goes out. After he’s gone, you lock the door and eat the brunch. Then you are finally alone to make some reflections.

Banging your head against a wall is starting to look more productive than thinking. You even resort to your self-help books and the internet, but it just makes you frustrated about not having a magical solution to your worries. After pacing through the room and doing some exercises, you fall back on the bed and sigh, cursing this entire hell dimension for not having a therapist. Or taekwondo. Nothing like fighting your worries against a much more manageable opponent than literal demons. Feels like a long time has passed when you relax and realize that _maybe_ , all you have to do is _rely_ on the demons. Accept some _help_. What a wild concept, going against your nature. But then, those demons were used to not thinking much of humans and eating them, right? If they can change, so can you.

While you daydream, something catches your attention in your perimeter vision. You can see them again while lying lazily in bed, the Little Ds. Quiet and still, you watch them take care of the plants using some magic. It’s always three of them. They are _so_ cute. Instead of walking they jump around and fix stuff, put the clothes and things back to their own places, and…eat the dust and hair strands? Just like roombas? Those small demons just don’t stop getting better! Funny, Lucifer said your room was your problem a long time ago, when you started living here, but the Little Ds have always helped keep the place clean. Sometimes you would lose an item and then, suddenly, it appeared on top of your table. It happened more than once. Sometimes you get back to your room and a variety of items are all lined out neatly on top of the table. You really want to talk to them. They can talk right?

“Hey,” you call out, in a low and amicable tone as soon as you think they are done. The poor creatures jump around, screaming in a very high-pitched tone and start running around the room. “No, no, please wait! I just want to talk! I’m not going to do anything, I swear!”

They stop, looking from behind the table and chairs, scared.

“Please, come in, I want to meet you guys! And thank you for always helping me keep this place clean,” you insist, smiling at them.

The Little Ds look at each other. One is brave enough to go out of their hiding place.

“Master told us to never talk to the human,” says the Little D with glowing red horns. Yeah, they do talk, not shocking.

“Master is very scary!” says the Little D hidden behind the chair, with glowing orange horns.

“Master?” you ask, curious.

“The big sin of pride!” says the other one with glowing blue horns in a hushed tone, as if afraid of being heard. They all have high-pitched voices.

Ah, Lucifer. Of course.

“It’s ok, I won’t tell a thing to Lucifer!” you say. They all shudder with fear at the mention of the demon’s name. “Come on closer, I just want to talk to you guys.”

They look between each other again. A small discussion seems to be taking place. After a while of waiting, they decide to come closer. You sit on your bed and wait for them to jump there too. They are small but very athletic. In no time they are sitting with you on the bed ( _‘Can they even sit if they have no legs?_ ’).

You ask them about what they do and the Little Ds energetically tell you everything: they clean, fix the paintings so they are never crooked, bring lost items to their owner’s rooms, put the trash out, care for the garden, switch old candles and lamps for new ones, put more wood on the fireplaces, take care of Cerberus when Lucifer don’t have time ( _‘How?? They are so tiny!’_ ). Such hard workers. They have been working here since the last owner was alive and they like the demon brothers a lot since they don’t get punished as much as with the previous master. ( _‘Why would anyone punish those cute void balls with glowing horns?’_ )

“Thank you all for always helping us with the house!” you tell them. Though the Little Ds are like balls of void, they kind of look embarrassed by the compliment. They are looking away and smiling shyly. No one must thank them or even recognize their hard work in this house. Tsk tsk.

When bringing down a hand to pet them, they almost run away in panic, but you gently stroke one with a finger and they quickly see you mean no harm. In no time, all three Little Ds are on top of you, hugging and letting themselves be petted. The small demons are surprisingly soft, like a stress ball. You want to squish them, but it must be painful so you don’t. The little devils tell you they are seven in total so you ask them to go bring their friends so you can meet them all.

You have to wait for a while. The small demons had said they can’t slack off on their work or Lucifer could punish them. Ew. You decide to play on your D.D.D. until they arrive, and maybe reply to the texts the boys sent you. _So many texts_. Absolute chaos must have ensued while you went ‘missing’ for less than an hour. Surprisingly, not a single one of the chats ask where you are. All of them are from after Mammon had found you, and Mammon, with that big mouth of his, must have told all his brothers about your one-sided fight with Diavolo because they were all asking about it. You stare at the D.D.D., trying to rationalize. After a while of thinking, you reach a conclusion: Lucifer must have invaded your room and found your D.D.D. in the RAD coat. There is no missed call from him, however… Did he legit go through your stuff? Something feels amiss, but you can’t quite point your finger at it. A new text notification brings you out of your daydream—yet another text from Mammon. Groaning, you try to bring yourself to reply to a couple of the messages.

When the Little Ds come back, you couldn’t be happier. All seven are here now. They are all different and ‘minor sins,’ as they call themselves. They’re the lowest ranked demons, who always work for the strongest demons in exchange for protection. Though they have the same sins as the brothers they are not similar at all. Pride isn’t acting like a stuck-up leader and greed isn’t fawning over you. This is actually very reassuring. The Little Ds ask about you and you do not hesitate to tell them your whole life story. Going from your childhood until yesterday. Pure word vomit. The small demons don’t interrupt you or make questions, they just sit quietly listening to your long ramblings. A part of your burden feels lifted. Talking and listening to your own voice telling all the troubles you faced actually makes you understand them better, and at the end, you even feel stronger. Because, _damn_ , you really passed through this Hell and are still breathing and kicking. Maybe you can face whatever life throws at your face after all.

The demons look _delighted_ after hearing about all the fucking problems in your life. You wonder if anyone ever told them a story before. Probably not. Maybe they never received all this attention from anyone before either.

A knock on the door scares all the Little Ds away. They jump and hide under your bed. Right, the ‘don’t talk to Tsuki’ rule. What a stupid rule. What did Lucifer think some small, ‘low life demons’ as he called them could even _do_ to you?

“Tsuki, I bought snacks,” Beel’s voice says.

You’re up and marching to the door in the next second.

“Hey,” you greet Beel. He has a tray of various snacks and some juice. You gladly take it from his hands.

“Are you doing well all alone here?” the avatar of gluttony asks, concerned.

“Yep, I’m all good.”

Beel takes a long look at you, then he smiles.

“You seem fine, I’m going on now. Let me know if you change your mind.”

“Sure thing.” You wave him goodbye.

Hurrying inside, you share the snacks with the Little Ds. It's too much for you to eat alone anyway. The demons have some sharp teeth…still cute.

Surprisingly, the demon brothers start listening to you more. Which means your break is going well. When some demon asks to do something together and you say ‘no,’ they actually listen and don’t insist. At first you feel weirded out by the sudden behavior. When you chat with Satan in the library the next day he tells you the brothers had (another) meeting to talk about you and realized they have been suffocating you. Who would know, they can actually talk to each other and sort out their problems! Make choices without you to spell it out to them! Without you having to act like a therapist or peacemaker! _What a wild fucking concept!_ If you keep up like this you may even start making _Lucifer_ listen to your orders and become the new ‘leader’ of his hell zone.

Mammon and Belphie are still going to RAD (and Lucifer too but he spends less time there now), so Satan and Beel have to babysit them to make sure they don’t screw up on their tests and assignments. You refused to help them study; you deserve this break from all the studying you have done in the past six months.

Most of your spare time is spent either in your room or in Levi’s, gaming and watching anime. Asmo also comes by frequently. You convinced the Little Ds to hang around with you when they need to come to treat your room plants (as long as they are not slacking off on their job). The nightmares eased to the point you (stubbornly) keep sleeping in your room. Things with Lucifer have been a bit…stagnant. You have no idea what he said when he met Diavolo again and vice versa. And honestly, you don’t want to know. The avatar of pride and you still talk normally during meals, and he sends texts everyday, but it still feels like there’s something off. Some distance. While a part of you wants to sit and talk over things with him again, the other part just wants some peace and rest.

“T~ Su~Ki~!”

You ignore this bother. Asmo keeps invading other people’s rooms without knocking. Some habits die hard. 

“Tsuki!” Asmo yells louder. “Are you listening to me?”

‘ _Why_ .’ What did you do to deserve it? He has been coming here to invite you to go shopping all week. _Every_ day. While the rest of his brothers have been minding their own business and not bothering you as much, Asmo proved to be the exception and keeps trying to convince you to go out with him. You can say ‘no’ but that doesn’t make him stop asking the same stuff again later.

“Maybe.” You keep looking at your D.D.D. while lazily lying in bed.

“How mean! Why are you so mean to me?” Asmo whines in the most dramatic way possible.

“Because you’re mean to everyone.”

“Well, that’s true,” he murmurs, going pensive for a moment. “We NEED to go shopping today! Proper shopping, not any of your grocery streaks craziness!” he insists. You chuckle to yourself, remembering how after having Asmo bother you so much about going shopping, you just made a grocery list and went out to buy it, giving him no time to do actual shopping. It has been a pretty recurrent situation. Still, Asmo gets surprised and angry every single time he sees your grocery list. After a minute or two, the avatar of lust gets tired of being ignored and decides to continue. “I was looking at my wardrobe today and I’m afraid I don’t have quite the item I want to wear in the party I’m attending this weekend. And you need a good formal outfit for Diavolo’s birthday too.”

Ah, shoot. You stop what you’re doing, standing up suddenly. Asmo stares at you.

“Diavolo’s party!” you yell, walking to your wardrobe to get a jacket.

“You forgot?”

“No! I mean, yes. I don’t want to go, _God_ , I really don’t want to go, but I _need_ to.” You get your wallet and D.D.D. and put them in your pockets, then you grab Asmo by his forearm and drag him outside. “Ah, Hell. Sorry, sorry, let’s go to the central market now,” you say in a hurry.

“Ahahaha, I knew I would convince you to go shopping with me!” Asmo laughs triumphantly.

“Yes, I get it now, let’s just get done with it.” Better kill two birds with one stone.

While you and Asmo walk through the House at a quick pace, you get your D.D.D. and send a few messages to the House of Lamentation group chat before leaving.

**Tsukishima**

_Hey. I have forgotten to buy clothes for Diavolo’s party._

_I’m going to the market with Asmo now._

_Let me know if we should buy anything else too._

_We’ll be back for dinner._

_Bye._

**Beelzebub**

:ok sticker:

**Leviathan**

_I want some fried octopus tentacles._

_And the new edition of Devil To Japan, All the Latest Manga and Anime Trends For Devildom Otakus! Should be on sale already._

**Tsukishima**

_I meant in the food and grocery sense, but sure, I’ll buy it for you._

_Pay me when I’m back._

**Leviathan**

_Obviously._

_I am not Mammon._

**Mammon**

_Hey!!_

**Satan**

_Stay safe, you two._

**Belphegor**

_I just got to the central market, maybe we could meet later to go back home together?_

_If I knew I would have waited for you and Asmo._

**Tsukishima**

:ok sticker:

**Mammon**

_Why haven’t you called me to tag along too?_

_Yo_

_Tsuki_

_Tsuki!_

_Answer me!!!_

When you enter the sixth shop you arbitrarily decide you are buying the clothes in this store, otherwise you’ll lose dinner and the rest of your patience. Ironically, Asmo had already bought all the accessories he wanted, it's just your clothes that are missing now. After _five_ shops and nothing, you are no longer losing your precious time. Just one more week left in your study break and you want to _relax_. Who cares if there’s still time until the damned party? Better have everything ready now so you don’t have to worry about it for a full three weeks.

You manage to narrow down your options to three different outfits to choose from. Asmo wanted the sexiest one, of course, so you discarded it as soon as he said you should show more skin. You ended up going for the simple and mature look. When the seller asked if you’re going to want the white, the black or red one you had to think for a minute. The white one should get dirt easy so it was a no, you liked the black outfit, seems moderated, but you are pretty sure Lucifer would be using a black suit and he kind of likes red, didn’t he? You wondered if he would like to see you in red instead of neutral colors for once...

‘ _Fuck_.’

You bought the red one.

“Hehehe, this outfit will look so good on you, Tsuki,” Asmo hums while you two are going back home. “And that red color is stunning! I’m surprised you didn’t pick the black one, I was sure you would choose the black, but I must say I’m very pleased! You’ll be a star in that party, everyone will look at you and see how beautiful you are, trust me.”

‘ _Urg’_ . Now you feel like regretting it. You don’t want to be a star or get attention like Asmo, you just want Lucifer to compliment you. ‘ _You look so beautiful today, Tsuki,’_ that’s all you want. And maybe a dance, a dance with him would be nice too.

“Hehe, you want to impress someone, don’t you?”

“Uh?!” You stop all at once, startled. “What do you mean?”

He giggles.

“Oh, my dear, I’m the avatar of lust, I can tell you were thinking and feeling _things_ while watching this particular outfit.” You just stare at him, without reaction. “Didn’t you know? We avatar of sins don’t need to _eat_ humans, necessarily, we can only feed on their sin, and I happened to catch your impure thoughts a while ago,” he winks.

Your cheeks start getting red. Why did he use the word 'impure'? You only want some compliments and a dance, that’s not lustful. Is he messing with you or does wanting something really bad count as lust? About this new information, were you right all along? Your own sin of pride makes you want to be closer to Lucifer? Does he feed on your pride? How do they even do that? Satan’s love for you feels more justified now.

“Considering your color choice, I guess it can only be one guy, right?” Asmo smiles and winks. ‘ _He knows._ ’ “Aw don’t be so timid! I’m not telling Luci—”

“Shh!” you shut him, but Asmo just laughs, making you groan.

“It’s fine! Do you want my help? Are you planning to tell him?”

“Hell no!”

Asmo’s smile falters a little.

“No to my help or no to telling him?”

“ _Both_. It’s just…some stupid crush, I’m not telling him. He doesn’t even like me.”

“He does,” his voice gets lower and his expression becomes serious. “Why are you saying that? Lucifer likes you a lot. He’s always looking after you, making sure you’re ok.”

“Yeah, I guess,” you shrug, disgruntled. “Sorry, forget I said it, it's just my insecurities talking. But I still don’t think he likes me the way _I_ like him. We are fine one moment, then we start fighting. And we just, keep fighting, don’t we?”

“He also fights a lot with Mammon,” Asmo reminds you. ‘ _Fair.’_ “I don’t think he actually knows how to express love.”

‘ _Do any of them? Ah. Satan sure does. Satan is just perfect_.’

“Anyway!” Asmo says louder. He grabs your chin so you’re looking up now. “I’m sure Lucifer likes you back! You should stop being so shy. Trust the resident love expert of the House of Lamentation.”

“You are not a love specialist, you are a sex specialist,” you correct him, breaking free from his loose grip.

“Ouch, that hurts!” He means it in a joking tone, but you can see a shadow of something else on his face for a second. Then you remember how he’s used to hiding his own insecurities behind a narcissistic mask, and it makes you feel bad for that comment.

“If it makes you feel better, you are a great friend, actually,” you tell him, lightly punching his forearm, trying to compensate for your previous ruthless remark. Asmo is taken aback for a second, before smiling.

“Of course, I am. I am great all over after all!” 

You roll your eyes, but at least Asmo isn’t looking like a kicked puppy. Is he right? Does Lucifer like you back? You shake the doubts away. There isn’t time for this, Belphie must be waiting for the two of you just ahead,and you can overthink it back at home. You only wish Lucifer would do _something_ that will leave you with _no doubts_ of his true feelings for you. But that looks like too much to ask for.

As promised, you find Belphie waiting at the entrance of Hell’s Kitchen. But Solomon is here too, and they seem to be chatting. When you both approach, Belphie eyes the bags Asmo is carrying, lots of bags. After all, it’s an _Asmo_ shopping day.

Solomon ends his chat with Belphie and greets you and Asmo. The sorcerer has an easy smile and tells you he had been doing some shopping today too when he saw Belphie around. He asks about how things are going and the avatar of lust tells him that everything is fine and shows off some of the goodies he bought.

After finding out Solomon has seventy-two pacts with demons you become even _more_ aware of him. Why does he even need _seventy-two pacts?!_ You only have five and it feels like you are too powerful already. You would be happy to not make any more pacts, you don’t _need_ more. What is Solomon after? Does he want an army? If he challenges Diavolo for the throne of Devildom would you join him? Hmm. No, you would join Lucifer, whatever side Lucifer is on will probably end up winning _(‘Lucifer > anything else, obviously’ _ ). Your fellow human (‘ _He IS human, right?_ ’) doesn’t spend too long with you and the demons, he has to say goodbye since he isn’t finished with his shopping yet.

It's only you, Asmo and Belphie now. Maybe you should try talking to the avatar of sloth? One minute passes, and when neither Asmo nor Belphie makes an effort to start a conversation, you have to do it yourself.

“So” you start, “what have you been doing here today, Belphie?”

“I was looking for a job,” the avatar of sloth says in an indifferent tone.

“A job?”

“Yeah, why do you look so surprised?”

“Ah. Nothing. I just,” you trail off, but Belphie keeps glaring at you, waiting for your answer. And now you feel a bit intimidated. “Since you’re the Avatar of Sloth I thought you would be too slothful to handle a job?” You pray he doesn't take it the wrong way.

“Oh.” He doesn't sound offended, surprisingly. He yawns before explaining further. “If it's part-time I can handle it. It’s only for a few days too.”

“Why do you need quick cash?” asks Asmo. “Looking to seduce someone or to buy better clothes?”

“No and _no_ , what do you have against my clothes?”

“Should I say in alphabetical or chronological order?”

“Fuck you, Asmo.”

Belphie ignores Asmo's obscenities and weird faces and decides to reveal his intentions.

“I just need some money to buy Diavolo a birthday present.”

You and Asmo look at him in shock.

“ _Diavolo?”_ you both shout. “Ah, you are planning to make up with him?” Asmo questions a second later.

“Yeah, something like that,” Belphie admits, “can’t stay on his bad side forever.” He shrugs. He kinds of has a point there… “I wanted some company while working to keep me awake, but I don’t think it would be a good idea having Beel working in a restaurant where he is supposed to deliver food, not eat it.”

“Fair point,” you agree.

“I wish you could convince Mammon to get a job, Belphie! That piece of shit has owed me money since like, 300 years ago,” Asmo complains.

“Doesn’t he also owe Levi some money?” you think out loud.

“Bet he does, and a big sum, Levi talks about it from time to time,” says Belphie.

A grin starts creeping over your face. You have an idea.

After showering and eating dinner you find Mammon sitting on the floor of Levi’s room while playing games with him. You cross your arms and look down at him. Would never have guessed he was in Levi’s room of all places, they fight more than anything. They even fight more than you and Lucifer!

“This is unexpected,” you say, kicking his foot. He doesn’t move.

“My brain is fried from all that studying so I came here to distract myself.”

Levi cracks up, losing focus in his game. It is the colorful racing one which always ends in fights, especially if Levi loses.

“Dumb Mammon really can’t even use his own brain cells without getting a headache, it’s hilarious,” he laughs again, then jumps on his gamer chair and gets more focused on the game when he notices Mammon’s character is catching up to him.

“I’m forced to agree.”

“Hey, can you two stop bullying me for one minute?!” Mammon exclaims, still with his eyes glued to the game screen.

You decide to wait for the race to end. To no one’s surprise, Levi wins.

“Nice one, Levi. Mammon, look at me, I come to bargain.”

“Bargain about what?” he asks, uninterested.

“Look at me,” you order, annoyed. Mammon is always trying to get your attention but when you want him he mostly ignores you. Oh, the nerve. “I have a plan and I need you: you, Belphie and I are going to work in Hell’s Kitchen”.

_This_ gets his attention. He quickly turns around, squirming on the ground.

“Hell's Kitchen?! Work?! What the hell do you mean with that?”

“Belphie is going to work there to get money to buy a present for Diavolo.” Mammon looks at you like you have gone completely mad. “Think about it for a second, Mammon. I want to start getting closer to Belphie, however, I just can’t get over the murder thing. _But_ , if we are both working in a crowded place and have the bonus of you being around, AND if we consider that at the end of the shift Belphie will be so tired he'll just sleep for the rest of day, then I am completely out of danger and I can get a look at what he is like. Let's not forget I still get paid for the job. It’s a win-win situation!”

Mammon is still looking at you as if you had grown another head and your skin turned another color.

“And WHY do you need ME to WORK? I can just watch you,” he says after a long pause. You can see the gears slowly turning inside his head.

“Are you deaf or are you just that much of an idiot?” You throw your hands at the air, frustration showing in your random manners. “First, I need you to make sure I’m safe and second, this way _you_ can get _money_ too. To pay off your _debts_.”

Mammon had started to smile but it turned into a disgusted expression as soon as you said the word ‘debts.’ He shrugs and lies on the ground of Levi’s room, closing his eyes.

“No, thank you. I’m not gonna lie, you got me in the money part, but I’m not using it to pay off old debts.”

“You’re ridi….” Levi’s “OOOOOOOOOH” echoes through the room, cutting you off and slightly scaring you. Levi jumps off his chair and you watch him confusedly.

“You still remember that money I lent you some time ago?” Levi yells excitedly, all over Mammon. You both have stopped everything to stare at him; Levi has a big presence every time he gets excited like this. “If you pay me off with the job’s money I’ll be able to get the pre-order of the new time-limited action figure of Ruri-chan’s Ultimate Form Of The Magical Girl Warrior Defender of Love, from the new spin-off anime that is airing!” The way he can say so many words so fast is still impressive.

It takes Mammon a few seconds to recompose himself and process the words Levi has said.

“No way I’m getting money just for you to use it to buy yet another dumb figurine.”

“WHAT DID YOU SAY, SCUM?” Levi shouts at Mammon’s face, already in his demon form. The way these demons can just change their whole appearance faster than a blink of an eye still fascinates you.

“Look at what you did, Stupid Mammon! You made Levi angry, apologize to him!”

Levi grabs Mammon by his collar and shakes him hard like a ragdoll while yelling at him to take back what he said about Ruri’s figure. Mammon throws his hands into the air in a peace gesture after just a few seconds.

“Fine, fine! I’m sorry!” he screams, fearing for his life. “The figures aren’t dumb!”

Mammon is dropped to the ground all of a sudden.

“That’s better,” Levi smiles, but his smile quickly leaves him, “You’re so rude, you’re always rude to me, what a disgrace of an older brother I have. Shouldn’t have let you in my room,” the avatar of envy complains.

Levi can be so extreme when he wants to. 

You cross your arms and stare down at Mammon, who is still sitting on the floor, now massaging his neck and head..

“Maybe if you pay off your debts with your brothers, they will be nicer to you,” you comment, feigning innocence.

“I don’t care about this,” says Mammon, irritated. Then, you can see when a lightbulb lights on the top of his head. “Buuut, maybe if you do something for me, I may help you out,” he smiles evilly and winks.

‘ _Oh, so he has a few brain cells after all._ ’ You could just force the pact powers over him, but Mammon being angry and gloomy in a corner is as infuriating as Mammon happy and glued to you. Doesn’t matter what you do, he’ll be a bother, so the only choice you have is between the sad bother and the happy bother.

“Fine. I’ll let you sleep in my room again if you do a decent job,” you suggest after a long pause. Mammon stands up, happy and laughing. “But you _will_ use the money to pay off your debts to Asmo and Levi,” you warn.

“ _Tsk_ , fine,” he grunts.

“OOOOOH, thank you, Tsuki!” Levi throws his hands over you. Quickly, you are able to catch him in an awkward embrace. “I’ll have the new time-limited Ruri-chan figure now thanks to you! Tsuki’s such an angel, what did I do to deserve you?” he cries into your shoulder.

“Wait, why are you thanking them?” Mammon complains, jealousy stamped all over his face. Both you and Levi ignore him.

“No problem, Levi, that’s what friends are for,” you reassure him, gently patting him on the back.

And with that, the plan is set in action.

Belphie, Mammon and you work in Hell’s Kitchen for the next four days. Now the study break is almost over—just a few more days off and you’ll have to go back to watching classes and doing homework for another six months. The place lives up to its name, _Hell’s_ Kitchen; it’s always crowded with customers and you have no time to rest. The payment is higher than usual since the work conditions are awful, but even so, no one really sticks here for a long time. Every time you went here, the staff was completely different, and now you know exactly why. Of course, you knew it was crazy to work here, but now you could _feel_ it, the exhausting work. The three of you work in the afternoons when it is less crowded than usual, but since RAD’s on break, there are more demons with free time now. The work isn’t done until night time, and when you get home all you can do is eat, take a bath and sleep till the next day. The exhaustion is so heavy you aren’t even bothered if a nightmare wakes you up or not, since you can fall asleep immediately after. Mammon is sleeping here too, this time obediently staying on the ground, but nothing can wake him up in the dead of the night. You also find out he snores loudly.

The very first time you went back home after work was pretty memorable, since you bumped straight into Lucifer in the entrance hall. He had just come home after a meeting with Diavolo.

“Where have you three been?” the avatar of pride asked before even greeting you.

“Slaving ourselves at Hell’s Kitchen,” Mammon replied grumpily.

Lucifer arched a brow.

“I need money to buy Diavolo a birthday gift, so it will only be for a few days,” said Belphie simply. He purposely bumped into Lucifer before going to his room.

“And I was _kindly_ convinced into paying some old debts, so I guess you won’t have a problem with it, right, Lucifer?” Mammon said in an annoyed tone, then he grumped his way to his room, murmuring some not-so-nice words about the job.

Before you could go to your room as well, Lucifer stopped you with a hand on your shoulder. You looked at him, mildly confused. His brows were arched in a worried way.

“I don’t care about my brothers working as long they aren’t being a nuisance to anyone, but why are _you_ working too?” Lucifer questioned. “If you ever need money you can just ask me and I’ll lend you some.”

‘ _Oh, did he mean like a sugar dadd_ —’, you forced yourself to stop this line of thoughts right away. Couldn’t let your fantasies run wild while Lucifer was right in front of you.

“I’m not in it because of the money,” you said, still looking at Lucifer. He was so close, an arm’s length away from you. He has been in a weirdly overprotective mood lately, ever since the whole murder thing. Somehow it got even worse after the fight and your vanishing from his radar for about an hour. You noticed it was his way of coping, always knowing your next move and keeping his brothers in check. He has gone back to sending more messages and making some small talk after dinner or when he sees you in the hallway. No complaints here. It was either an effort to make sure of how and where you are or to ease the heavy atmosphere between you two. Even after making up for that awful day with the Diavolo fight, things haven’t been quite the same yet, but you appreciated how he has been _trying_. “I thought it was a nice idea to get to know Belphie by working together with him, and I brought Mammon along so I could force him to do something decent for once.”

“Surely there are other ways to get closer to Belphie,” he remarked, still looking like he was not happy with this situation. 

“Maybe,” you admitted. “It’s just that I took advantage of it to force Mammon to pay his debts to his brothers, since I got tired of listening to Asmo and Levi complain about all the money Mammon owes them.”

Lucifer smiled for a second, but only for a second.

“I can accept it,” Lucifer said after a moment of pondering.

“Sorry, but I don’t think I'll be able to work in Hell’s Kitchen for a few years until he repays you too,” you half joked, in a lighter tone. To that, Lucifer laughed. The sound of his genuine laugh will always be like music to your ears. ‘ _I wish he could laugh more_.’

“Mammon could work there for a century and he would still owe me money,” Lucifer chuckled. Wow. He must really owe lots and lots of money to Lucifer. “Fine then, it’s only for a few days, right? Don’t work too hard, leave the hard work to Mammon instead.” It was your time to laugh.

“Of course, Lucifer.”

Reflecting on Belphie’s actions, you notice he reminds you of Satan, for some reason. Probably because they both don’t act on their sins for the majority of the time. He does yawn a lot during work though. Belphie is always calm, composed and polite to the clients (not that you haven't seen him fake being nice before). You both make fun of Mammon’s mistakes too. Overall, he looks chill for the majority of the time. But he seems to have some dark humor that isn’t exactly reassuring.

After the last day on the job, Belphie asks if you would like to buy Diavolo’s present with him, but you have to decline since you need to take Mammon straight to the house so he won’t be able to spend his money on anything. Belphie nods understandingly. In the house, Levi and Asmo thank you and call you an angel for the miracle you achieved.

The Friday after you were free from work is your cooking duty day, and you have special help. You had convinced the Little Ds to come to help you make breakfast for the boys. They get all the ingredients for you, clean the dishes while you cook and praise every single thing you do. Smiling the whole time, you end up making a lot more than usual. At least Beel will be happy. Since you were excited about it, you’d texted all the brothers the night before to come to the dining room at nine in the morning because you have a surprise for them.

“Breakfast is ready!” you announce, radiating positive energy while entering the dining room. Everyone is here. “Today I had help!”

On cue, the Little Ds come out of the kitchen carrying more trays of food. They help you put the food on the table while the demon brothers watch you. The demons must be happy to see you in such a good mood.

“So, the reason you didn’t want us to come to the kitchen is that you were having the Little Ds helping you?” Levi says, while eyeing your famous pancakes.

“Yup! They are such a great help!” You hear Satan and Beel thanking the small demons for their hard work before they start eating their breakfast.

“We hardly see them around, it is easy to forget they even exist,” Asmo comments. He pets the Little D of lust that had come to deliver food closer to him. The small demon smiles happily and even dances a little. ‘ _So adorable_.’

“Tsuki is full of surprises,” Mammon says in a good mood, “You may look cold on the outside but you are very cute actually,” he comments with a sly smile.

Since you’re feeling nice this morning, you let it slide, keeping your big grin, you only nod at him. Mammon chokes on his food when you don’t explode at him, making you laugh. Feeling like someone is staring at you, you look around, meeting Lucifer’s intense gaze. He looks away when he notices you caught him. ‘ _Ah, that’s right.’_

“You! Don’t you dare lay a finger on my babies!” You point at Lucifer with a serious expression.

Suddenly, you can hear some coughing and the demons stopping everything they were doing to listen to you.

“I wasn’t aware you have children but who might they be?” Lucifer says calmly.

Satan wheezes.

“Did Lucifer just make a _joke?”_ the avatar of wrath says, trying to contain a laugh.

“You know what I mean!” crying out loudly, you continue. “Yes, I have adopted the Little Ds, and they did nothing wrong! It was me who insisted on talking to them.”

“Your love for small creatures never ceases to amaze me, Tsuki,” Lucifer says immediately. He has a calm and composed expression that irritates you. Is he taking you seriously or not?!

Rolling your eyes, you try to calm down before talking to the avatar of pride again. So, you eat a big piece of a pancake.

“Damn, why did you even made that stupid rule to not talk to me? What could they even _do_ to me, Lucifer?”

“Ah, I told them that order before bringing you to the Devildom,” Lucifer explains, casually pouring more coffee in his fancy cup. The cup’s stamp looks just like peacock feathers—the little D of pride said it’s his favorite. “I thought the human would be scared of all demons and I didn’t want to create unnecessary problems, so I told them to stay out of your way. Unfortunately, I didn’t know I had chosen a feral human who refuses to be afraid.”

“ _Who_ are you calling **feral**?!” you scream seriously, provoking an explosion of laughs among the demon brothers. “SHUT UP!” The pact acts up and makes Mammon and Satan cover their mouths with their own hands. Asmo and Levi who were laughing quietly aren’t affected, so they end up laughing and pointing at their brothers. All the while Belphie cracks a loud laugh and lies with his face on the table from laughing too hard. Beel is stuck between eating or laughing, so he only awkwardly looks around the scene. “That’s rich coming from someone who can’t handle their own wrath,” you spit in Lucifer’s direction.

“Have you looked at yourself in a mirror?”

You bump your fists into the table and growl to express your dissatisfaction at Lucifer. He still looks so calm too! Drinking his coffee like nothing is happening! Fuck, it’s the _Mister Perfect_ way he acts that Satan hates so much. It _is_ infuriating. Only now you noticed the Little Ds have vanished, probably having run away at the first sign of conflict.

Levi whispers something along the lines of “someone should stop them” to Asmo.

“Why don’t you do it, Levi?” Asmo replies.

“Are you crazy? I don’t have a death wish,” Levi hurries to whisper back to the avatar of lust.

You are about to tell them you can hear everything when…

“Wow, Tsuki, I should apologize to you again,” Belphie says between laughs, making you turn to face him, curious about his words. “If I knew you were like this, I would have reconsidered killing you on the spot.” He laughs one more time before realizing you are staring at him without blinking. “So, sorry.”

You keep your gaze on Belphie, astounded. Carefully, you consider the veracity of his words before replying.

“Good to know that you can see your wrongs and grow past your old resentful self and become a better person,” you say, surprising not only the demon brothers but yourself as well, as it comes off more soft than what you had expected. “There is something called ‘atonement,’ Belphie, and until I feel like you are making an effort to atone for what you did to me, specifically, I can't forgive you.”

“I understand, Tsuki,” the avatar of sloth agrees right away with a solemn expression. “You can rest assured that I want to atone. And not because I see you as Lilith, no, you two are wildly different.” _This_ reassures you more than anything else. “But because I see now my anger for humans was uncalled for. I only wanted to blame _someone_ for my sister's death and achieve revenge in one way or another. I am very ashamed of my past actions. They even pushed me away from a brother I love dearly.”

The sound of something hitting a piece of fine porcelain startles you and makes you tear your eyes off Belphie. Looking around the table, you see Lucifer had let a spoon fall into his fancy tea cup. The avatar of pride is looking straight at his younger brother with a cryptic expression, his right hand still in midair. Is he shocked? Relieved? Incredulous? His puzzled expression doesn’t last long, as he closes his eyes and shakes his head. When he re-opens his eyes, the prideful demon is all composed again.

“I’m glad you two seem to be trying to get along now,” Lucifer says. To call it ‘getting along’ is a stretch. “And about your, ‘ _babies,’”_ he says the word _very_ reluctantly, “rest assured that nothing will happen to them.”

“Really? Thanks, Lucifer!” you smile at the avatar of pride. He only nods slightly, now looking back at his tea cup. “And Belphie, I trust your words.”

Belphie’s eyes widen for a second in surprise, but he smiles right after, realizing you mean it. He…made a lot of good points. Like moving past revenge and stopping the need to blame _someone_. It sounds good, to move forward, you should try it. Move past all this deep, heavy and sorrowful resentment you have for both Belphie and Diavolo (and Barbatos to an extent).

Beel and the other brothers resume eating in a good mood. You join them, trying to ignore Lucifer’s latest offense. Honestly, why is he only sweet to you when you two are alone? Stupid prideful demon. At least you can finally feel comfortable eating with everyone at the table today. The Little Ds ran away but you can always check on them later, they aren’t going anywhere.


	10. Trouble Is

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trouble Is by All time Low  
> “All that I know is I just can't say no to you. Funny how things never change (trouble is). All that I wanted was just to get over you. Trouble is I can't find a way (…) Trouble is you're part of me.”
> 
> I think Trouble Is an AMAZING song from Lucifer's POV of Tsuki. Like, let me quote the song more "Hide away the feeling. Never was enough, doesn't matter what I do. Sick of doing nothing. Even when you're gone, I know that I need you" KDVHDKSJFHVJHJ guys, its him. I love this song so much (is so fun too).
> 
> A shorther chapter (is more like a bonus) this week folks but next one is a looooong one, get ready for this wild ride.

**Chapter 9.5 – Trouble is**

Lucifer enters his room and closes the door softly. Today was…an eventful day, and it’s still before ten. Would be safer to say it was an eventful morning. Tsuki is just full of surprises. How very interesting, showing off friendship with the lower demons resulted in the human and Belphie talking about their problems and moving on. To say Lucifer is feeling lighter, calmer and happier would be an underestimate.

Before he can sit on his chair and start his work, maybe he should have a quick chat with the stars of the day.

“Little Ds! Come here right now!” he yells to the walls.

Without delay, the small lesser demons appear in his room, some coming from behind the door and some by the windows. All seven line out neatly in front of him. Lucifer stares at them for a full minute without saying anything, just to give them a bit of fear.

“So.” When he finally speaks, all the little demons shiver visibly. “I’m not angry, I know Tsuki after all, but I still wish to know a few things. How long have all of you been keeping company to Tsuki?”

The little Ds look at each other and hesitate for a few seconds.

“About two weeks, Master,” says the Little D of greed.

“I see.” He leans against his desk in a lazy way and crosses his arms. So, since the first day of the break? Ah, they spent that whole day in their room. “What has Tsuki talked about so far?”

Silence. They look between each other again, as if unsure of what to say. Now, anything less than promptly following his orders from lower level demons is  _ unacceptable _ . Lucifer growls, catching their attention.

“ _ I _ am your master, not Tsuki,” he reminds them, watching intensely while they tremble, “so you better start talking,  _ or else.” _

The avatar of pride is aware he promised Tsuki to not punish their… _ babies _ . Urg, just the thought of calling the Little Ds Tsuki’s children makes him want to roll his eyes. If they so desperately want to have children Lucifer is more than happy to make some with them. But Lucifer did not promise not to  _ scare _ the Ds into saying what he wants to hear.

“Master Tsuki only talks about their day,” the Little D of gluttony says, trembling all over.

“And they like asking us to talk about our day too,” the Little D of greed completes.

Lucifer hums, pensive. He can’t believe it’s only that. There must be more. But Lucifer keeps calm, Tsuki probably told the little Ds to keep their conversations a secret from Lucifer, but absolutely nothing in this house goes without his attentive eye. He must know everything that happens, exists and passes within this house. So, he smiles evilly when he thinks of a way to trick the demons into talking.

“I just want to know if there’s anything that they happened to say which can cause concern.” He speaks in a less threatening way, smiling sweetly, though fake. “Are they happy here? Is there anything bothering them? Tell me so I can fix it. As you know, I can’t fix anything or help someone if I don’t know about such things.”

The demons stop trembling for a bit.  _ Good _ , they fell for it.

“Master Tsuki said the demon brothers are bothering them less!” the Little D of wrath says excitedly.

Oh? Are they? Finally?  _ They finally listened to him in the last emergency meeting?  _ Though, it was kind of his fault when he told them to watch Tsuki all the time after their breakdown. Those stupid brothers of his, always taking things either too seriously or too lightly, suffocating the poor human instead of just trying to make sure they are happy.  _ Sigh _ .

“Master Tsuki also said they are sad their school break ends so soon,” says the Little D of sloth. “They said bad things about the work in Hell’s Kitchen.”

Well, he knows all of this already. Can’t these pesky demons say something he  _ doesn’t _ know?

“Anything else you may judge important?” He makes one last attempt.

“Oh, the other day Master Tsuki let us see a really pretty outfit for a party,” the Little D of lust giggles. “When they showed us the clothes, they said they would make the Master fall in love with them!”

Lucifer coughs. Did he hear it right?! This cannot be. He tries not to show the inner turmoil he’s feeling to the demons but he isn’t very confident on his poker face at the moment.

“It’s true!” says the Little D of pride. “They even smiled and blushed when talking about it. Master Tsuki talks about Master a lot.”

_ Well, he can imagine that yes, that human must talk a lot about him, they have quite the relationship. Not even Lucifer can think of a name for such a complicated relationship.  _ ‘Complex’ is the word that comes closest, and he knows it’s partly because he still doesn’t know how to handle them. But is what they talk about good or bad? He wants to know but at the same time he can’t show how much it means to him to these demons. He doesn’t want to give himself the hope of Tsuki liking him only to have it crushed by the cold reality. He rather swallows his misery alone.

“I… see,” he coughs again. ‘ _ Compose yourself, Lucifer _ .’ “They must say many good things about me, right?” His sadistic side emerges again.

The Little Ds fall into a heavy silence for a moment.

“Uh… Yes, Master.”

Lucifer’s eyes narrow. Lying is not cool. It calls for a punishment but. That damn human and their human ways.

“Are you sure?” That’s all he can say without losing the last bit of his patience.

“When Master Tsuki complains about the demon brothers, they complain about the Master too…” the Little D of envy has enough courage to say.  Looks like they just escaped a punishment.

“Your sincerity is appreciated,” Lucifer remarks.

Maybe he should let them go now… His emotions are starting to spiral out of control. His D.D.D. buzzes and he absentmindedly reaches for it and takes a look at the screen; it’s a text from Tsuki. A smile cracks onto his face and he can’t help clicking on the chat app.

**Tsukishima**

_ WHERE ARE MY BABIES _

_ I'M CALLING THEM BUT THEY ARE NOT COMING TO ME! _

:angry sticker:

_ Are you punishing them????? _

:Doom sticker:

“Master Tsuki always smiles like this when they get a text from the Master,” he hears one of the Little Ds whisper to the other.

_ Fuck _ .

They are giving him too much hope.

**Lucifer**

_ I’ll send them your way. _

**Tsukishima**

:shock sticker:

:angry sticker:

_ DID YOU DO ANYTHING TO THEM? _

**Lucifer**

_ Relax, I only interrogated them. _

**Tsukishima**

_ “Only” _

_ … _

_ I want to see my babies. _

**Lucifer**

_ You will very soon. _

“Little Ds,” Lucifer calls out, making them jump, “Tsuki is calling for you. Go see them. And don’t you  _ dare  _ tell them anything that happened here besides an amicable talk,  _ do you understand?” _

The little Ds all nod furiously before wishing their Master farewell. Lucifer is left alone with his thoughts. This day just doesn't stop with the surprises. He paces around the room, thinking. If Tsuki wasn’t joking…and they wish for Lucifer to fall in love with them…then, it means Tsuki probably  _ likes _ him.  _ ‘Haha.’ _ He laughs sadly in his room. That’s too good to be true. Why would they even _like_ him, he pissed them off not too long ago, didn’t he? Even when they talk things out and make up, suddenly, they are fighting again. Just like Tsuki has once said, their personalities clash a lot.

His phone buzzes again. Another text from the human.

**Tsukishima**

_ Ok, so they aren’t injured or crying, so I GUESS you were saying the truth. _

_ Sorry for freaking out. _

_ I’m happy you listened to me and didn’t hurt the little Ds. They are just small round friends. _

:Happy sticker:

_ Have a good day. _

He chuckles at the messages. They are so cute. Lucifer wants them all to himself. He doesn’t think it’s possible (especially when most of his brothers love them), but now he wishes to try. He must find out whether they love him or not. Just not today, there’s work waiting for him, and he needs to calm down first anyway. Otherwise he may just knock at their door and declare his undying love.

Collecting himself, he sends a couple texts to Tsuki before starting his work. A smile never leaves his face.

**Lucifer**

_ I always keep my word. _

_ Thank you, have a great day as well. _

He does write “Love you” too, but never hits send.


	11. Social Climb

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha, it's Wednesday my dudes! Hold on your safebelts because this chapter >:) its a wild ride >:) there's a part even I hate here.
> 
> First things first, title chapter is Social Climb by I DON’T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME.   
> “Feels like we're having a good time. It's true, a wonderfully good time. When I'm with you.” 
> 
> Second thing, this fic has become so heavy with music references I made a playlist on spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1fwBVrKq2uuu1LntOc2JfM?si=lqbUtgsBROqYb7hT94DsaA  
> Enjoy.

**Chapter 10 – Social Climb**

Back at RAD it’s the same boring thing. Everything is back to normal, more or less. You can feel your anxieties settling down now; the nightmares are less frequent and Belphie doesn’t give you a heart attack every time you see him.

You are simply going to your classroom when you hear some demon having the audacity to say to his friend, in a very exasperated way, “Look, the human is still alive,” when you are walking in a corridor. You can’t hold yourself together, telling them, “Yeah, shocking, right?” in the sassiest tone you can make. Normally, you don’t say a single word to any demon with the sole exception of Mephistopheles, but he  _ loves _ to chat and complain, to the point of not letting you walk past without pulling you into some conversation. At least you can be sassy with him without consequences. This is probably very bad for Diavolo’s exchange program, but  _ fuck that guy _ , you owe him nothing. It’s not his high charisma that will make you try to be amicable with rude as fuck demons for his little poorly planned program. You do what you want now.

“Why are you talking to us?” the very same demon scorns behind you. “Go annoy your ‘human fucker’ friends.”

You are forced to make a 180 degree turn and face the demons again, because the term ‘human fucker’ isn’t something you expected to hear. Like,  _ never _ , this is some demon/monster fucker reverse thing that your mind was not prepared to hear. Now you really want to see Lucifer’s and Belphie’s reaction to being called ‘human fuckers.’ Belphie would, more than likely, kill both on the spot. Lucifer would probably give them a long lecture while looking super scary.

“I can annoy you two too, _demon_ _fuckers_.”

They click their tongues and wrinkle their noses. That buff looks kind of familiar, maybe he insulted you before. When you step closer, unafraid, they both squint their eyes.

“Confident because you kicked Aim and Vepar’s asses, aren’t you, human?” one of them comments. So, those are their names? You honestly don’t care.

“And you think I can’t do the same to you?” you challenge, crossing your arms and smiling. Their expression gets sour. “By the way, it’s not ‘human’, it’s Tsuki.”

“Maybe that’s a bad idea, Allocer,” the other demon whispers in his buffy as hell friend’s ear, but you can hear anyway. Because demons are stupid and don’t know how to actually whisper.

“I am NOT afraid of some random human!” Allocer screams. Now, some passersby stop and stare at this mess.

Oh boy, you just stepped back in RAD and are already getting into another fight. If Belphie were here, he would be having the time of his life. Who knew the only one tainting Diavolo’s exchange program was you all along? Where  _ are _ all those useless demon brothers anyway? The second they leave you alone you go ape shit. Looks like it’s not only Lucifer who is your impulse control.

“Uh, it’s  _ not _ the human that’s the problem…” the clearly more sensible demon says, but Allocer is not happy.

The demon steps closer and you get ready. Kicking another demon’s ass may finally do the trick and make them start respecting you. This time you will summon someone; no way you’re getting that injured again, the demons aren’t weak but your human body clearly is. Satan is a good pick, he’s mega scary when angry and wouldn’t allow you to get hurt. While you do consider the others for a second, Satan is still the best pick in your opinion.

“You’re about to get  _ rekt _ ,” you taunt the demon in front of you, just before saying the avatar of wrath summon spell. “I—”

_ “ _ **Tsuukiiiiii!** _ Stop it this second!” _

A voice echoes loudly through the place and your blood feels like it turned to ice. Suddenly, you feel yourself being dragged to the side away from the demon. After a moment of confusion, you see Lucifer is holding your arm—to the point of discomfort —and has put himself between you and the demons. The more sensible demon gasps and steps away. Allocer is left dumbfounded and paralyzed where he stands. The avatar of pride is looking at you with that stern glare of his, the one that screams ‘I am  _ so _ disappointed at you, I reprove your actions vehemently for the next 100 years.’

“How the…?”

“Can you not be left alone for a measly five minutes?!” he growls lowly like an animal. You don’t know if he wants to scream but can’t because he’s at RAD or if he’s trying to scare you off. It's kind of working. You already feel sweaty and anxious, he didn’t even need to growl like that. “I thought I had told you to  **not** fight a demon ever again?”

“Who…said  _ I _ was going to fight?” you force the words out. Technically, you  _ were _ going to summon Satan…legitimately doing what Lucifer told you to.

Unfortunately, the avatar of pride scoffs, not believing you.

“I will escort you to your class,” Lucifer says as if he’s threatening you. It feels like a threat when he says it like that. Like, ‘I will escort this prisoner back to its cell.’

“Ah, damn, the human’s guardian showed up,” you hear some demon comment behind you.

You turn around, almost twisting your arm. The sudden action makes Lucifer’s grip falter for a second, before he restores his firm press on your arm.

“HE IS NOT MY FUCKING GUARDIAN!” you scream, loudly enough for all of them to listen. The corridor is  _ crowded _ now, all eyes on you. Your cheeks are starting to get warmer.

“That’s enough, Tsuki,” Lucifer says, before picking you up and putting you bodily over his shoulder. A surprised yell leaves your mouth and your hands find a strong hold on Lucifer’s coat. How insulting! He’s holding you like a sack of potatoes in front of over a dozen demons!

Allocer and his friend have the audacity to start giggling at your helpless state, making you even angrier.

“EAT SHIT AND DIE, ASSHOLES!” you scream at them, showing them both middle fingers. They only laugh more, until Lucifer turns around. Instantly, both become quiet. Lucifer must be giving them a very scary look.

“Insulting and provoking Tsuki is a grave sin.” The avatar of pride speaks in a low voice, and now the whole corridor is silent, the atmosphere changing completely before the voice of the prideful demon. It’s not only the demon brothers who are scared of Lucifer, it seems like the whole RAD is aware of his position and power. “I am going to let it pass this  _ one _ time, but I better not see a repeat of such a disgraceful display. The exchange program is to let go of prejudice against humans and angels. Any actions that go in the opposite direction of Lord Diavolo’s wishes for the program are unacceptable. Consider it a warning.”

_ ‘He really does like lecturing people.’ _

Saying that, Lucifer turns again and starts moving. You can see the displeased looks on the demons’ faces, annoyed and looking away. Literally no one goes against Lucifer in this place. No wonder he hated your guts so freaking much in the beginning, he’s used to facing zero reluctance in his life.

Being carried like that makes your stomach and back hurt. It’s also very uncomfortable in general and you can’t tell what’s worse: the embarrassment of being seen like that or the fear of falling face first into the ground.

“Let me go, you’re embarrassing me,” you mutter, feeling slack, all members hanging heavily from Lucifer’s body. Now you can tell why the anime characters don’t like being carried like this, it is so uncomfortable.

“Have you calmed down?”

“Yes, I have. Please drop me.”

“I won’t let you fall.”

That was not what you meant, did he misunderstand? But before you can say anything else, Lucifer holds you by your waist again and lowers you to the ground. You firmly place your feet on the floor but feel dizzy for a few seconds thanks to having been upside down for a minute or two. The blood flow is all confused. So, you end up grabbing at Lucifer’s coat while waiting for this awful sensation to pass.

The alarm has already rung, so classes are starting, but Lucifer is still in the hallway with you. He’s missing the beginning of the classes… Truth be said, you don’t think he cares about the classes. Lucifer probably knows everything he needs to by now and he doesn’t even  _ look _ like a student. He’s only here because Diavolo asked him to be his vice president, Levi confirmed it, on that day at his pool. Must be so  _ boring _ . But then, again, he’s a few thousand years old.

“Feeling better?” he asks after a few seconds. You nod, slowly letting go of the grip on his clothes. Lucifer bats an eye at his coat and straightens it, then he stares at you, still with his disappointed look. “I’ll give you a warning just like the other two, do  _ not _ fight any demon again. Attempt to pull this stunt once more and there  _ will _ be punishment.”

Oh well, he’s taking it easy on you now, isn’t he? No complaints. Successfully escaped  _ yet another punishment _ . Does he love you or does he know his punishments won’t change shit? Make your bets.

“This time I  _ wasn’t _ going to fight, I swear, I was going to summon Satan.”

“Really?” he crosses his arms, not convinced. “I hope so, then. Go straight to your class and try to not create any more trouble.”

“You say that, but you didn’t hear what those two said.  _ They _ were the ones looking for trouble,” you complain. What they said was so lame you can’t even repeat it out loud. It may actually kill you from how cringe it is. Pretty sure you felt physical pain from only hearing that expression once.

“I don’t care. And you shouldn’t either. Pay no attention to the idle chat, you are far better than them so don’t go down to their level. Refrain from insults and falling for their provocations. I’m sure you can go a few more months without fist fighting someone else.”

At the same time the lecture is a bit inspiring, it’s also a pain to simply have to ignore the rude things the demons say. And now that Lucifer came out of nowhere to stop you from getting into another fight, more rumors will rise yet again. ‘ _ Just my luck.’ _

“What they say bothers me,” you mutter, unhappy. While it’s true that you more than likely  _ can _ refrain from throwing hands with demons again, you wish they would tone it down on their not-so-discrete insults too.

Your classroom is the next door, better get going before Lucifer decides to extend the lecture. He will probably just tell you to get over it.

“Wait,” he calls when you turn you leave. “What they say really bothers you that much?”

You consider your words carefully, surprised he didn’t just tell you to brush it off.

“It’s nothing I’m not used to by now but yes, it does.”

Lucifer glances at you pensively for a moment.

“I promise I’ll think of a way to make them stop with their rude comments.”

“Really? Well, I wish you luck.” Saying that, you turn and enter your classroom. Was he saying that to make you feel better? What can he even do? Lucifer tried to scare everyone back in the beginning of the exchange program and it only worked to make the demons stop oppressing you openly. Stopping them from talking about you behind your back sounds a lot more difficult.

The rest of the day goes as expected. And the fact that you have homework on the first day of the new semester makes you want to hit your head against a wall. The break was good while it lasted… And, unfortunately, on this very first day back, you have to meet Diavolo and Barbatos on the student council.  _ ‘Urg, why am I a member again?’ _ They both watch you with careful eyes once you meet again and wish you a good return to the studies. It doesn’t look like they resent you, well, Diavolo at least. Barbatos on the other hand… He could be silently imagining cutting your head off with a butter knife while keeping his poker face. Yikes.

The angels, upon hearing about the news, scolded you just like Lucifer and told you there’s no benefit from fighting the demons. Solomon, on the other hand, tells you to use your pacts to ‘put them back in their place,’ which is the first thing he has ever said that makes you agree with him instantly. Needless to say, Solomon and the angels end up discussing for the rest of the day about the best way to proceed with the demons.

One thing that you can’t call normal is the way Lucifer starts acting. It all started after the first day back at RAD, you lost your pen case (or more likely, it was stolen by some awful demon, you know it was. Probably, it was that damned duo, Allocer and his more-intelligent-than-average friend). You basically were crying out loud and being sour and bratty about your missing stuff. The next day, Lucifer gave you a bag full of school supplies and a new case at breakfast, all animal themed. Every pen is designed after a different animal, the eraser is a pink bear face and the case is green with a frog stamp. Everything is honestly adorable, so much cuter than your previous boring supplies. You thanked him lots and he seemed to be in a good mood. On the very next day, which was Lucifer’s cooking duty day, he asked what you wanted to eat. ‘Anything’ wasn’t an acceptable answer, so you decided to be a total brat and asked for rich vegetables souffle with melancholy chocolate pudding as dessert. And he actually did it. Needless to say, it was delicious, so much that you bought a “Best Cook” apron for him…and he got one for you too the following day. But okay, this is actually nice. At least no one is fighting anymore. You can live like this.

You decide to use the new apron on the same afternoon. Lately, your mood has been so good you insist on cooking delicious food for the brothers even when it is not your cooking day. Cooking makes you happy and fulfilled. You look at a cake and think ‘oh, I did it and it tastes good so it means I am good at something.’ Nothing makes you prouder than showing off all the things you learned in the cooking club, including baking the most sugary desserts in the Devildom. 

All of Lucifer’s presents are nice too and they always make your heart beat faster and your face get all flushed.  _ ‘But does he like like me too? _ ’ For the sake of your own happiness you try not to think too much into it. Funny how you thought he would be harsh at you after that attempt at fighting, and not softer. Maybe he is trying to make up for what you have to stand in RAD? It honestly hasn’t been as bad as you expected (aside from your stolen case) but you are also trying hard to ignore any gossip. Sprinting in the corridors, eating on a quiet corner and shutting down every attempt of gossip from Mephisto (to the point he got mad and stopped talking to you for a whole two days. Then he apologized and friendship resumed as normal).

But then, Lucifer appears with a box full of music CDs in your room.

“I found someone selling these human world goodies in the market today and it reminded me of you,” he explains, with a big grin. “I hope you can enjoy some of them.”

Oh well, you do like music and it isn’t a secret. Your hands venture between the discs, expecting some really old artifacts from your parents’ generation or even older. Then the first thing you see is fucking Panic! At the Disco, and Fall Out boys, and,  _ no way _ , Imagine Dragons. 

“What the Hell?!” you exclaim. There are others too, Linkin Park, AC/DC, Queen, The Police, A-ha, KISS, a few more rock bands... “All of this is good stuff!”

“Oh, you like it? I’m glad,” he smiles to himself. Radiating may be a better word.

You only stare at him in utter shock. He may have seen the FOB and Imagine shirts and maybe he found out Nine in the Afternoon by Panic but that doesn’t explain the rest. He couldn’t guess them all, right? Right? No way he got it by accident, something feels off. 

“D-did you really get this whole box by chance?” 

“What do you mean?” he never stops smiling. “Like I said, I saw some demon selling human goodies and I picked some for you. Do you like it?”

His words leave you dumbfounded.  _ ‘Just accept the free CDs and don’t overthink it, Tsuki!’  _ You look back at the box.  _ ‘Stop overthinking it!’ _ The one thing missing may be Set It Off and you can’t tell if the fact that the album Midnight is not here makes it better or worse. Lucifer is still smiling expectantly at you. Ah damn, you can’t fight with him for trying to please you!

“Thank you.” You offer a timid smile. Satisfied, Lucifer turns to leave. “Ah, Lucifer, wait!” you quickly say. “I… I am all right you know?”

“I know that?” His expression becomes confused.

“Oh.” Oh god, you are so confused now. “I mean. I’m fine, you don’t need to do all of this to make me feel better. I’m doing better, I swear!”

Lucifer’s head tilts slightly, now he’s the one who is dumbfounded. He composes himself rather quickly and assumes a serious expression. 

“I know, I can see you have been better. I thought it would please you?”

“It does!”

“Then why are you complaining?”

_ ‘OH MY GOD I AM SUCH AN IDIOT. WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF?’ _

You groan, you really don’t want to fight. Not anymore. Not after getting so many gifts for the whole week. Lucifer doesn’t deserve it. 

“I’m so sorry, I’m not complaining,” you hurry to say, almost getting on your knees. Lucifer eyebrows raise a little at your desperation. “I’m just… surprised? Shocked? It seems a bit all of a sudden and I feel like I don’t do anything to justify receiving so many presents?” 

Lucifer keeps staring at you for a moment, serious. His good mood falters.

“So, it does not please you.”

“ **NO** !” you scream, getting distraught now. “I’m just confused! Why are you giving me this much stuff?”

“No reason,” he says simply, in a calm and low tone. “If I see something that I think you may like, I get it for you. Didn’t you say the same thing when you gave me that apron?”

_ ‘Thank you, but why the new apron?’ _ he had asked. _ ‘It’s nice and I think it suits you!’ _

…You really do feel like an idiot now.

“That’s all?”

He looks to the side, fixes his (impeccable) clothes and scans the room before looking back at you.

“And I think you deserve it.”

Your heart feels like it just shattered in a million pieces. Even if he doesn’t  _ love  _ you, Lucifer is proving he likes you a ton. 

“I’m sorry, please forget I said anything! I really love the gifts; I appreciate them a lot! It’s just…I’m not used to it, Lucifer.” You can feel yourself wanting to cry. “I have many self-esteem issues, I feel like I don’t deserve all that.” Your voice is barely audible from the embarrassment you’re feeling. 

Lucifer’s face suddenly looks illuminated with understanding.

“Well, that’s not good.” He crosses his arms and his face gets more serious. “Everyone here likes you a lot, Tsuki. And we like seeing you happy, so be happy when we decide to give you presents. You do deserve all of this. And much more.”

“I’m so—”

“Stop apologizing. It’s all fine.” 

“Ok…” You look down. Is it really fine? Everything was fine until you opened your mouth. Honestly. Even when things are going well you have to go and make things worse. 

You just want Lucifer to go now, so you can cry about your ridiculousness alone in peace. Instead of going away, Lucifer comes close and ruffles your hair, messing it. The act forces you to raise your head back to him.

“Don’t overthink this.” He’s starting to recognize your bad habits. “I just feel like making sure everything is going all right for you for once, that you are healing and happy,” Lucifer says. There’s a lot of sincerity in his words. He has been a lot more open lately. He finally recognized you do need him to tell you things so you don’t dwell in self-doubt. And yet it still happens. The anxiety, it has no limits. “If it depends on me, I’m not letting any bad thing happen to you ever again. Got it?”

“Yes. Thanks,” you weakly tell him. Your heart aches. It’s being torn apart from all your doubts, intrusive thoughts and bad memories. Every time you take a step forward you also take two steps back. As soon you can get over something, your sick brain focuses on something else, until that’s all you’re thinking about and it eventually becomes a spiral. 

Lucifer sighs and retracts his hand. You stare at him, looking conflicted about either leaving or staying. He glances at the door for a few seconds, before turning back to you.

“We should listen to your new discs sometime, in the music room, together.” He attempts to give you a small smile. Your stomach flips in pain and you feel like falling in love with him all over again. He can be so sweet too. Or you have become as transparent to the demons as they are to you.

“I agree.” You force yourself to smile too. 

Lucifer then has to excuse himself, back to his work. When the door closes you count up to fifteen and lock it. Walk straight to your bed and cry into one of the purple pillows. Need to let all those bad feelings and thoughts out. Afterwards, you must learn to let these doubts behind and just enjoy your life for a minute or two. For you and for the brothers.

You are currently drifting on a big floatation bed while the brothers fool around. It was only Mammon and Levi at first. Levi complained a lot in the beginning, but you said it was fine if Mammon spent some time together as well. Then, Satan and Asmo appeared, coming by the stairs. They were searching for you (as usual). Levi was very against them too, but you managed to calm him down and Satan and Asmo joined in the pool. Asmo went running back to his room to change to a swimsuit but Satan simply took off his shirt and went in. The sight of his bare chest makes you gasp and blush. He’s even more beautiful than what you had expected. Beel and Belphie saw Asmo running back into Levi’s room with swimming clothing and decided to check it out. Long story short, all the brothers minus Lucifer are chilling in Levi’s pool.

“This was supposed to be my and Tsuki’s relaxing place!” Levi cries out  _ again _ . You can see the glowing jealousy in his eyes. He’s the only one in his demon form. “Don’t you have anything to say, Tsuki?!” the avatar of envy demands.

Honestly, this must look just like Heaven in Hell, you are the lucky one to be surrounded by powerful demon boys that just happen to like you as well. And,  _ wow _ , they  _ are _ all good looking. Nothing but bliss here, even with Belphie lazily floating a little ahead. At the moment, he doesn’t bother you. Levi can probably drown him if the avatar of sloth does anything to you.

It’s been two days since you had that disastrous talk with Lucifer. He hasn’t gotten you anything new. He also hasn’t spoken to you, and neither have you been in touch with him. You still feel so bad. So, so bad. He was  _ happy _ to give you gifts and you just  _ had _ to start thinking stuff and saying stuff instead of just being happy. Why is it so hard to act like a normal human? A depressing mood has been following you around ever since. Levi must have noticed, because he suggested playing in the pool since he knows you love swimming now. In short, you must focus on just enjoying it; he just wants to see you happy. Like Lucifer did. And now you’re thinking about Lucifer again. Working alone in his study, while everyone else enjoys Levi’s pool. Would he even come if someone invited him? Would he come if  _ you _ invited him?

The depressive mood has a playlist and it only has sad love songs. And you hate love songs.  _ (‘Why must every song be about love and sex?!’) _ . The latest song in your head is Easy To Hate by Waterparks, a marvelous song to sing to the avatar of pride, if only you had the courage to do so.  _ ‘It's too easy to hate you and hard to love, when was it not? All that I can do is fall in blame with you; It's too easy to hate you, hate you. You're hard to love.’  _ High Definition is also good, ever since you found the band Waterparks you have been listening to their music on repeat.  _ ‘I’d love to be in love with you enough to write a love song’ _ , is a beautiful line and it makes you feel alien to be so touched by it. Though,  _ ‘I like you inconveniently’ _ is probably the most realistic line you ever heard from a song in your entire life.

The avatar of envy calls your attention, stopping your sad streaks of thoughts. He's demanding that you say something. You don’t even know what they were talking about.  _ ‘Guess I just need to say some bullshit to spark some interesting stuff that can, hopefully, distract me from the avatar of mixed signals.’ _

“I always wanted to see Satan shirtless,” you say, deep in thoughts. High Definition is still replaying inside your head.  _ ‘I’d love to be in love with you enough to write a love song; I need to feel needed and I need it more than I let on; I’ll be home just thinking about it. Maybe call like I used to. But I’ll just stay alone because alone is safer than with you.’ _

Levi and Mammon gasp while you finally move from your moping to steal a glance in Satan’s direction, just in time to see him look down in embarrassment. The red starting to spread on his cheeks makes him look cute. “You are so fucking beautiful, Satan.”

The avatar of wrath gets even more red. He looks awkwardly to the side, with his signature hand at his chest. He never looked so  _ shy _ before. Levi and Mammon, however, are now yelling in annoyance at you. Those two are so stupidly jealous.  _ Why?  _ Well you know why, but it is still a bit inconvenient.

“But I am the most beautiful guy here, right?” Asmo chirps in, a confident smile on his face. His hair is tied with a few hair clips and it looks very nice like this.

“I suppose you’re someone’s type,” you deadpan.

Asmo’s gasp is audible as at the same time Levi and Mammon both start laughing.

“So damn rude!” Asmo complains loudly. He’s at a loss of words for a second, which makes his older brothers laugh even more. It even makes you smile.

“Guess Tsuki’s type is the most athletic one? Like Beel and I?” Satan finally says something, still looking terribly embarrassed. It surprises you he even engaged in this topic, since he looks so shy right now.

“And me!” Levi adds himself to Satan’s examples. You can’t help but nod at Levi, making him smile happily.

“Nothing against the rest, but the athletic type is a lot more aesthetically pleasing to me…” You start talking but your voice lowers in volume as your words become way too embarrassing. But the demon brothers still hear them.

“Who are ‘ _ the rest’?!” _ Mammon asks, confused. Asmo still has an irritated expression. His looks are a real sensitive subject to him, maybe you should apologize.

“That should be you, Asmo and Belphie!” Levi laughs. Mammon starts complaining but you just  _ have  _ to nod to Levi, showing that Levi is right. Mammon gasps, shocked. Beel and Belphie are just chilling in the corner, finding it all very funny.

“Then, someone should be your favorite right?” Asmo says all of a sudden. He’s pouting and has his arms crossed. “Who’s the hottest guy in your opinion, Tsuki?”

‘ _ Damn, he’s pissed about it. _ ’ You took too long to apologize and now he’s taking his revenge. Asmo can be so petty sometimes. He knows the moment you pick a favorite chaos will happen and his brothers will start tearing each other apart while he laughs in the background. You start thinking of a way of answering without answering. Since the answer is Lucifer and you don’t want to say how you found he’s hot as Hell too.

“Uh…I can’t pick because I never saw Lucifer’s shirtless so it wouldn’t be fair,” you lie. The memories of his bare chest and  _ your hand _ on his flawless and incredibly soft skin vividly come back to you, making you blush hard. And the memories are doing  _ things _ to you. Those butterflies in your stomach sure are not welcome right now, you wish you could just  _ kill  _ them, and you like butterflies. Hopefully the brothers will think the blush is thanks to the embarrassing conversation.

“HA, this is no problem! Because we’ve never seen Lucifer without a shirt either!” Mammon declares, laughing cheerfully. “Now answer the question, human.”

‘ _ Never? They have known each other for a few millennia! _ ’

Damn, it didn’t work. You leave the float, falling heavily into the warm water. It helps to wake you up to reality more. Then you set your destination and swim to Satan, taking a good look at him when you are just beside him. Satan only stares at you with a curious expression. Oh boi, you want to pass your hand all over his abs and sleep on top of it.  _ ‘I miss knowing for sure I was aroace, I guess I was demisexual all along and never realized because I wasn’t emotionally close to anyone. _ ’

This situation reminds you of a rather funny interaction with Asmo. You were in the Devildom for like two days and the avatar of lust straight up asked what your sexual orientation was after several failed charms of his. ‘ _ I’m ace, I feel no sexual attraction, give up. _ '  _ 'What do you mean NO sexual attraction?! From all the humans in the world, we got a asexual one?’ _ he had asked incredulously.  _ 'Tell me, who do you find hot then?’ ‘No one.’ _ The conversation ended there to never be picked up again. You simply killed him with your serious expression. It certainly feels weird to start thinking people are ‘hot' after twenty-four years. 

“…I guess I’ll have to choose Satan.” You can hear Mammon, Levi and Asmo screaming. “But you are a close second, Beel,” you wink at the avatar of gluttony.

Beel laughs a small ‘no problem,’ while Satan keeps staring at you with that cute blush and soft expression. You ruffle through his messy and damp hair while laughing.

“I’m serious.” You show the avatar of wrath a soft smile and Satan finally laughs too.

“That makes me really happy.” You can barely hear Satan’s words amidst the incomprehensible mess of screaming of the three avatars of jealousy. It finally gets on your nerves.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” you scream back at them after losing all your patience, successfully stopping their meaningless complaints. “ **STOP** having an envy attack every time I show some attention to your brothers! I like everyone here equally!”

“Even me?” Belphie asks in an innocent way. You stare at him, hoping the expression of utter disdain on your face is enough of an answer. “Hahaha, I’m just kidding! You don’t have to look that serious, Tsuki.”

“Oh, so it was only a joke? I see. Lucky you, I was just about to send Leviathan to drown you.” Belphie only laughs at your hint of a threat.

“Haha, I could,” Levi says in a good mood, “no one can beat me in water.”

Satan comments under his breath that Levi is, indeed, the most powerful demon when he’s in his element. You always knew he really is like  _ The _ legendary sea serpent, Leviathan. And from the serious look in his brothers’ faces, you are right. You just wish you could see his true form one day; he must be the sickest sea monster.

Mammon scolds Belphie for his dark humor. For some reason, it kind of seems to fit the avatar of sloth. Maybe it’s the trauma, but you can tell he’s able to put on a fake smile and laugh. Not now, though. Belphie seems to be having a genuinely good time.

Things calm down enough so you can just chill besides Satan for a couple minutes. Your back is touching his arm and chest. Satan is the most openly affectionate guy with you, followed by Asmo, but he seems to be a bit shy when you return his display of affection. His shyness is adorable and seeing the jealous face of Asmo and Mammon is quite funny. Beel starts asking about dinner and some chatting happens, with the demon brothers making suggestions.

Levi is pretty bothered by your preference for Satan too. He sulks to your side and hangs there. You resist the urge to ruffle his hair since he’s not a fan of touching. After a couple of minutes, you settle on tapping his cheek. He raises his yellow and purple eyes to you and is faced with your soft smile. He blushes, still with half of his face inside water. Since he seems not to mind your touching you move up, making a mess of his hair and touching his weird horns. They have the same texture as corals, sturdy and slightly slippery. They also get longer when he’s his aquatic demon form for some reason. The shiver that Levi has does not escape your eyes.

“So, Tsuki,” Beel calls you, bursting your little bubble of softness with the best boys, “has something happened between you and Lucifer? I don’t remember seeing you two talking much since yesterday. Which is odd, because you seemed to have gotten even closer lately.” You flinch at the question and it doesn’t go unnoticed. “Oh, I suspected your gloomy mood was because of it.” Beel does not seem surprised. Damn, Bell is too observant for his own good. You do know he only means well, however.

“I thought you had said Lucifer had been ‘ _ so sweet’ _ with you a few days ago?! You even cooked a cake for him!” Mammon questions, not looking happy. He said your own words in such a venomous way.

“I did say that but—”

“Yeah, what is the deal with you and Lucifer?” Belphie asks suddenly. He has a lazy but curious expression and now you  _ do _ want to drown him. That doesn’t concern him. Can’t he just be quiet? “One day you two are happily spending time together, cooking food for each other and so on. But the next day you aren’t even looking each other in the eyes.”

The way  _ Belphie _ , out of everyone, has noticed it angers you. Is this really that transparent? They are one step away from figuring out your massive crush on their older brother.

“Maybe someone  _ cursed _ us,” you spit, looking straight at him. If Belphie noticed you meant him, he did not show it. An unreadable expression is set on his face and he didn’t even look away from your piercing gaze.

“I didn’t curse you two!” Satan says quickly, bringing a hand to rest at his chest. You snap your head to him, shocked. Why did Satan get offended? You were talking to Belphie? Oh no, is it because he’s the most acquainted with curses and was constantly sending prank curses to Lucifer?

“Satan, this is exactly what someone who has done a curse to split Tsuki and Lucifer apart would say,” Mammon says in a scolding tone similar to Lucifer’s. You have to praise how he does try to act like an older brother sometimes.

“I swear, I wouldn’t do anything to trouble Tsuki!” the avatar of wrath defends himself.

“Wow, I can’t believe Satan hates Lucifer this much,” Levi comments, “that’s some romantic anime level plot twist.”

“Stop it, guys!” Asmo gets involved, going to stand between Mammon and Satan. “Don’t you guys realize Tsuki was only joking?”

Having  _ Asmo _ being the voice of reason is strange but you thank him, dramatically throwing your hands in the air.

“ _ Yes _ , thanks, Asmo! It was only a joke; I wasn’t accusing anyone!” you quickly explain before any of them can talk again. “You guys are either taking everything too serious or too lightly!” The demons remain silent and serious. You sigh. Now that you got their attention, better explain yourself. You look down at the water of the pool, hopeful that avoiding the eyes of the brothers will make it easier to speak. “Everything was  _ fine _ , he has been lovely to me, like, I can’t ask for anything else from Lucifer. And if I do, he just goes ahead and gets me whatever I need. It was all  _ my _ fault,” you lament, sighing deeply. “I fucked up, I was overthinking his actions and I said some stuff I shouldn’t have. I’m not used to being treated nicely and I can’t trust when things are looking good to me. And ever since that day, when I made myself a fool right in front of Lucifer, the mood around us has been a bit different. Like, when you fight with your friend and you make up but the heavy and tense air around you two is still here. I don’t know how to break the ice with him and I think he's unsure about what to do too, so I’ve been avoiding him.”

When you look up again at the brothers, the first one you see is Asmo frowning. As the one that does know about you crushing on Lucifer, he probably feels betrayed you haven’t gone to him for help. The truth is that you still don’t know how to ask for help when it isn’t a life or death situation.

Levi taps you on the shoulder and you’re forced to meet him.

“Do you want me to talk to Lucifer?”

“I thought you were afraid of Lucifer?”

Levi shrugs.

“Well, Lucifer  _ is _ pretty scary, but for Tsuki I can swallow my fear,” the avatar of envy tells you. In his serious eyes you see nothing but determination. It warms your heart and makes you wish you could hug Levi without him freaking out.

“Thank you, Levi, but I think that’s—”

“Yo,” Mammon cuts you off, “we want to help ya. Let us.”

Beel nods, coming a little closer.

“Tsuki already helped us so many times, let us return the favor,” the avatar of gluttony says. “We can stay out of trouble for one day to not anger Lucifer.”

“Talking about not angering Lucifer, I know what type of alcohol he likes, I can get some to his taste. He wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to have a drink at night after a long day,” Satan says, deep in thought. He strokes a few strands of hair out of your face and smiles when he sees you facing him again. “You always get in a bad mood when you’re not talking to Lucifer right? Well, we dislike seeing you in such a mood.”

‘ _ Ah.’ _

This throws you off, even though it’s expected at this point. You know them, but they know you too now. The brothers are serious, they will do everything to make you happy. You lower your head again and nod. Getting their help doesn’t look like a bad idea now—you feel stuck anyway.

“Ok, I’ll make sure Mammon stays out of trouble,” Asmo declares.

“Haaaa? You have nothing to do so you create something to do, is that right?” Mammon yells at him, but Asmo only laughs.

“Well, I’ll be sleeping all day so don’t worry about me,” Belphie says. Apparently, he wants to be part of the conversation and plan as well.

“What about your supplementary classes and homework, Belphie?” Beel reminds him.

His twin gasps and almost falls off his floatie. The plastic thing moves and he grips at it to not fall.

“Oh, I guess I’ll be making sure Mammon and Belphie study the whole day, staying out of trouble!” Asmo excitedly says. Mammon and Belphie both groan in displeasure but the poor demons know they need help with their classes. Otherwise, Lucifer will punish them if they fail yet again.

You giggle. With the help of the demon brothers you feel like you can do anything.

The next day, the brothers put the plan into action. Which means leaving you highly anxious the whole day. Mammon and Belphie were forced into staying in the library or in the twins’ room for the whole day, with either Beel, Asmo or Satan watching over them and helping them study and do their homework. Satan winked at you when he told you he gave Lucifer some new fancy bottle of Demonus. When you questioned him if Lucifer didn’t find it suspicious, Satan assured you he told some really well-crafted excuse that his older brother believed. Sighing, you join Levi in his room and do some gaming during the afternoon to help keep you distracted.

The longer the day dragged out, the more you just wanted to go to Lucifer’s room and fix everything already, but Levi didn’t let you. In the end, you had dinner with Levi while watching anime.

Not too long after dinner, Levi left the room after receiving a few texts. Without telling you anything. What are those demons even planning? Not knowing makes you fearful. And, great, just great, now you are alone with your own thoughts. You need a  _ distraction;  _ those thoughts can get nasty. Quickly getting the D.D.D., you anxiously go through your chats: nothing new. Wonderful, when you want to chat everyone’s silent. Guess you have to pick something yourself.

On the internet you decide to read about demisexuality, since your own sexuality is confusing you. It feels like it is all over the place. A demisexual is basically someone who feels no sexual attraction towards other people unless a strong emotional bond has been established.  _ ‘Well that kind of sounds like me with Lucifer, there are certainly a lot of emotions there.’ _ You can’t even remember the last time you had an actual crush before meeting the avatar of pride. Definitely don’t remember any childhood crushes. So, you also ask yourself, ‘do I even want to have sex?’ The immediate answer is ‘No! Gross,’ but you are also highly curious and having sex with  _ Lucifer _ doesn’t feel like a bad idea. He seems like someone who would know how to give lots of pleasure to his partner. Now the answer kind of feels like a ‘maybe.’

Being a demiromantic is mostly the same as demisexual: someone who only experiences romantic attraction after developing an emotional connection beforehand. Again, it fits pretty well. You have never dreamed about ditching a party just to dance with someone for the whole time. That’s very romantic in your opinion. Would be even  _ more _ romantic to leave the damn party early and go home and cuddle for the rest of the night.  _ Perfect date _ . Sadly, Lucifer is not going to agree to ditch Diavolo’s party.

Levi comes back before you can read every single label under asexuality (because what if something fits better?). The avatar of envy is grinning from ear to ear. You lock the D.D.D., curious. You are about to question him about what the Hell he and his brothers are even planning when you get a new text. It’s from Lucifer. When you see the text sender, you swear your heart stops beating for a second or two.

**Lucifer**

_ I didn’t see you at dinner. _

_ My brothers told me you have been busy with Levi the whole day. _

_ How about taking a small break? I wish to invite you to drink with me at the Music Room. _

_ Bring some of your new discs. _

_ ‘Polite as always, hmm? _ ’ You stare at the messages for a long enough time that Levi peeks at your D.D.D..

“Aren’t you replying?” The avatar of envy questions you excitedly. But you stay immobile while staring at the device. “We kind of worked hard for it today,” Levi adds carefully, watching you with great concern.

“I know, I know,” you say, hands sweating while holding the phone. You are already panicking. “What should I reply? You guys forgot I don’t drink?”

Levi rolls his eyes. He's a lot calmer than you, and takes the D.D.D. from your hands. You try to grab him but Levi is quite strong. He keeps you at bay while tapping with one hand. Part of you is reminded to just use the pact powers to get the D.D.D. back, but the other part feels relief from having someone else writing a reply for you.

“What do you think? I captured your personality well?” The demon smiles and hands back the D.D.D. when he’s done.

A wave of  _ dread _ erupts within you before you quickly look back at the screen.

**Tsukishima**

_ OOOOOOH. An invitation from the  _ ☆ _ eldest brother _ ☆ _??? _

_ I am  _ ☆  _ SO  _ ☆ _ EXCITED!!!! _

_ Sure thing! _

_ I’ll be there. _

_ Which time? ;););) _

:kissing sticker:

“LEVIATHAN!” You scream while trembling all over. Not sure if from anxiety or anger. Maybe both.

“What? Doesn’t that sound like you?”

“ **_ABSOLUTELY NOT_ ** _!” _

Levi jumps in fright. To his luck, the ‘ _ ping’ _ from another message brings your attention back to the D.D.D. instantly. 

**Lucifer**

_ … _

_ You sure are excited today… _

_ Okay. _

_ You can meet me here in about 10 minutes. _

He couldn’t  _ possibly _ have fallen for it. No way. You must clean this out.

**Tsukishima**

_ OHMYGODIAMSOSORRY!!!! _

:sorry sticker:

_ I left to use the bathroom and Levi replied without me knowing. _

:angry sticker:

_ Please ignore the texts above! D: _

_ But I do accept to have a drink with you;; _

_ I’ll be there in 10 minutes. _

**Lucifer**

_ I knew it wasn’t you. _

_ Make sure to punish Leviathan. _

“How did he know it wasn’t you?” Levi asks beside you, eyeing the texts as well.

You turn your head to Levi, with both shock and disdain.

“ _ Anyone _ could tell it wasn’t my way of typing,” you hiss. “I think only maybe  _ Mammon _ would have believed it, and even so, it’s a stretch!” Levi lets out a sad low “eh” sound. He seems sorry. “If you want to pass as me next time, try to make it sound like my usual style.”

“Oh, so a next time can still happen?” Levi tilts his head, surprised. “Lucifer told you to punish me too.”

“Ah, never mind that jerk,” you roll your eyes, “If he asks, I’ll just tell him I won’t come to your room for the next three days to ‘punish’ you, but if you want to go to my room any time to watch anime or play mobile games, be my guest.”

Levi laughs happily. He shows you a fist and you bump it.

“Partners in crimes as always, Tsuki.”

“Yup. See you later, Levi.” You turn on your heels, planning a quick stop at your room to make sure our clothes are fine before going to meet Lucifer.

“Good luck out there!”

You thank him and wave Levi goodbye. Taking a look down at your clothes, you wonder if it’s fine. Old blue sweatpants and an oversized black shirt of your favorite rock band. …It’s probably fine, you are not leaving the house or planning to seduce anyone. If anything, if someone loves you, then you shouldn’t need to dress up to seduce them in the first place. You only fix your hair before getting a few CDs and going to the second floor.

Ten minutes had not passed yet, but Lucifer is in the music room anyway. He’s pouring some alcohol in a glass. A round table is at the room’s center now, close to the piano and the record player. Several bottles of different drinks are on top of the table, along with two fancy wine glasses. The fountain at the back is working, you catch part of the bright sky light coming from the windows. It looks like a beautiful night, no clouds and a luminous full moon. Lucifer turns to look behind him when you step closer.

“You’re already here,” he says. His face has no signs of tiredness or anger, which is good. He leaves the bottle at the table and turns his body so he can properly face you. “Since today is a rare day when my brothers didn’t cause any type of problems, I thought about having a relaxing night.”

Uh oh. Now you suddenly feel like leaving. Lucifer seems to be in a legit good mood tonight and you don’t want to ruin it. Looking away, you scan the music room again, unsure. This place is pretty nice, very elegant, with bright colors. Both modern and antique décor. Where had all that previous confidence gone?

You feel like someone is watching you, so you turn to see that Lucifer is, indeed, staring at you intensely.

“What are you waiting for? Come on.”

He gestures to one of the black and red fancy chairs that are close to the table. Excusing yourself, you finally move and go to sit on one of those chairs and hand him the CDs you brought. Lucifer puts one on a modern radio that’s beside his old-fashioned record player, and it starts playing Imagine Dragons. You have never seen that modern radio before. It even has a USB slot. Now you’re wondering if he bought it on the same day he bought the CDs. Wouldn’t put it past Lucifer.

When the demon is back, he shows you the different types of Demonus and wines he separated for both of you. He goes into a rather long ramble about the types of beer and wine in Devildom and you just sit silently while listening to the sound of his voice. He starts by saying the different ingredients used result in different outcomes and subtypes of both beer and wine, which is very interesting. To be honest, you never minded his long lectures since you just focus on his clear and elegant manners and his silken voice, and daydream hard. Just like now. You lose track of what he is saying when the subject changes from ingredients and fabrication methods to brands. He has stopped talking.

“So, which one will you want to taste first?”

‘ _ What was he even talking about? _ ’

Your eyes fly to the bottles of wine, settling on the dark green one. You point at it. Lucifer seems satisfied and pours you some.

“I wonder if all types of demon alcohol don’t work on humans or if it’s just Demonus which doesn’t have an effect,” he thinks out loud.

“Let’s find out!” you say excitedly, taking a sip. It’s a bit too dry and burns while going down your throat. “To be honest, that’s a very interesting fact that I wish to learn more about. But I’d rather not get drunk, I’m not a fan of being drunk or hungover.”

Lucifer nods, taking a sip of his Demonus. Who’s a fan of being hungover anyway?

A new conversation starts by Lucifer asking you about the human world. You watch him curiously for a moment. He never wanted to know about the human world before. You start by talking about your favorite rock bands, since you’re using your FOB shirt. Lucifer’s also a fan of good music in general, so that sounds like a good topic to talk about. You end up finding out he’s quite fond of rock and metal as well. Apparently, it was Mammon who showed him the rock and metal genres. Who would know, dude looks too regal to enjoy Metallica but you’re not here to judge. Now all those rock band CDs he gave you make a lot more sense. Maybe you should just give him a few.

One topic merges into another and, eventually, you realize you and Lucifer are having a good and normal conversation. You end up tasting every single alcoholic drink on the table. The dark and sweet wine is your favorite. You start feeling a distant dizzy feeling that can only be the effect of some alcohol. Apparently, it’s only Demonus that doesn’t work on humans. Maybe it’s a good idea to take it easy on the wine. 

“… And she called me weird! The nerve! I was only doing my work and she had to call me weird!” you complain, loudly, shaking the wine glass around. The remains of the liquid move inside the glass, almost spilling. Somehow the topic has moved to your life back at college. Lucifer has been nodding to your stories, lazily holding his demonus filled glass. “If she didn’t have her besties backing her up, I would have gone ahead and told her a lot of stuff! I had nothing to fear anyway, I know self-defense and Taekwondo, no random girl with a superiority complex can scare me.  _ Especially _ now, you know?”

Lucifer nods again, sipping some of his drink. The avatar of pride has his coat hanging on his chair now and a few of the buttons of his waistcoat are open. As well as the first two buttons of his shirt; he claimed it was too hot a while ago. In your opinion, he was half drunk back then. Now he must be getting drunk for real.

For a moment, only silence can be heard. The demon brothers really are behaving today. Grabbing the wine bottle, you empty it in your glass. ‘ _ Wait, it’s empty? Did I drink a whole bottle of wine? _ ’ Putting the bottle back on the table, you stare at it in shock. The way you feel lightheaded and a bit too lively can only mean devildom wine  _ can _ make you drunk if you drink enough of it.

“Lucifer, the record stopped playing,” you tell him, only now realizing the unusual silence in the room. Lucifer blinks, then slowly turns his head towards the record, as if he couldn’t hear that no music is playing. He gets up sluggishly. “Oh, by the way, Lucifer! I think I may be getting drunk, it’s the wine, I know it is. But it’s so tasty, it may be addictive, actually. Oh! But  _ don’t _ tell anyone! I don’t want to be bothered by your brothers since they respect my no drinking wishes. Ah, when I get drunk, I tend to go into long rambles and never stop talking. It must be  _ really _ annoying and I don’t want to annoy you. I don’t normally realize when I start rambling so you must tell me when I start! Otherwise I’ll just keep talking and talking and never stop. It's like I don’t have a filter anymore, whatever comes to my head, I say it. Oh, and I know what you are going to say, ‘so, just like the normal you?’ But it’s even worse! I swear! That’s a bit weird too, do you think it’s weird? Does the alcohol numb my anxiety?” You stop a second to drink the wine in your hands, your throat is starting to feel dry for some reason. “Did you hear me, Lucifer?”

A chuckle is your response.

“Of course. Don’t worry, Tsuki, I’ll let you know if it happens.” He chuckles a bit again. “What do you want to hear?” he asks, giving all his attention to his shelf full of discs.

You stare at the shelf too, but you don’t know much of Devildom music. Lucifer has already put all his favorites to play and the three CDs you brought as well. But luckily not the cursed The Seven Lords disc; what if it really does curse and kill whoever listens to it? That might be the trigger that finally allows all your bad luck to actually kill you for good. Remembering Lucifer, you search for him in the room. He seems distracted, reading one record cover.

“Uh…Smoke + Mirrors again?” you suggest, eyeing the piano at the corner of the room. Does Lucifer know how to play the piano? Not once had you seen anyone using it, not even Lucifer. There are a few other instruments on display here, so maybe it belonged to the previous owner.

“Alright,” Lucifer says. He puts the record in his hand back to the shelf and picks the Imagine Dragon album. He puts it to play. Before he can get back to the table, you quickly ask him to put on Trouble. The demon goes back to the radio and skips all songs until he reaches Trouble. 

“I really like this song,” you say. Lucifer doesn’t even get back to his chair and you’re already singing. “ _ I took a photograph of me. When I was only nineteen, I looked a little lost at sea, I keep trying to find me _ .” You stop when your cheeks redden at the look Lucifer gives you. It’s so soft. He seems lost in thought but fixed on you at the same time. “I really like the chorus.” You wait for a bit longer to sing as soon as it starts.  _ “So pray for me brother, I need redemption, I'm just a man, A man on a mission, I want no trouble, I want no trouble _ , _ I want no trouble, I want no trouble. _ ” You stop here, with the chorus, feeling a bit more embarrassed now. “It speaks to me, y’know, because ‘ _ I want no trouble,’ _ but trouble keeps finding me!” You laugh, though it slowly becomes a sad, melancholic laugh.

“Makes sense,” he agrees, eyes never leaving you. “You seem to like singing too.”

“I prefer to sing when I’m alone…” you murmur, eyeing the dark purple liquid which you should not drink anymore. Totally not. Bad idea. You get the cup and swallow some more wine. “ _ Maybe you could save my soul. Cause of all the things that I don't know. Maybe you could save my soul. Cause of all the things that I don't know, _ ” you sing another part before keeping quiet and just enjoying the chorus again.

Once the music has ended, you tell Lucifer to change it to something else—you only wanted to listen to Trouble. Summer is still playing while Lucifer puts one of his discs on the record player, then he turns off the radio. 

“My luck reminds me of a certain line from Dance, Dance by Fall Out Boys.” You’re the one lost in thoughts now. “‘ _ Dance, this is the way they'd love If they knew how misery loved me.’ _ ” Maybe Lucifer would like it if you make him a playlist with all the trouble and misery songs you can find and name it after yourself. Or maybe not, what if he starts quoting the song lyrics of a song you actually like?

“Misfortune does seem to love you,” he is forced to agree again. Then, he empties his Demonus-filled glass. “Maybe we should check to see if you’re cursed for real.”

That makes you laugh.

“Please do, maybe I am.” You keep on laughing. Dance, dance is still playing on repeat inside your head. Lucifer had put some calm orchestral song to play. Full of piano notes, did he catch you staring at the piano earlier? The alcohol in your system is clouding your judgement and getting rid of some of that shyness of singing in public; you want to sing more. “ _She says she's no good with words, but I'm worse. Barely stuttered out a joke of a romantic stuck to my tongue. Weighed down with words too overdramatic_.” You stop only to stare at Lucifer’s pretty face. He seems fixed on you again. Enamored, even. It makes your heart beat fast, your hands sweat and your cheeks stay red with both embarrassment and the alcohol. You still feel like singing. Singing for him. “ _I'm two quarters and a heart down._ _And I don't want to forget how your voice sounds. These words are all I have so I write them, I need them just to get by. Why don't you show me a little bit of spine. You've been saving for his mattress, love.”_

You didn’t mean to sing the last verse, should have stopped at ‘spine,’ but you had to keep going and you only stop yourself when you’re singing the chorus,  _ ‘Dance, dance. We're falling apart to halftime _ . _ ’ _ With a bit of willpower, you manage to shut your mouth. When you look back at Lucifer, his smile has widened. He takes off his gloves by some miracle. You keep watching his bare hands and beautiful painted red nails for a while, very shocked and confused. After a moment, he stands up and shows you one hand.

“Since you’re in such a cute singing mood, why don’t we dance for a while as well?”

The grin that forms on your face is probably enough of an answer so you just accept his hand. His skin is soft and well cared for. You hope your hands don't sweat a lot against his. Lucifer walks to the record player first and puts it to play from the beginning. The piano starts playing again. One of his hands goes to hold your waist while the other stays firmly in yours. You put your other hand on Lucifer’s shoulder. Though his manners are sluggish and clumsier than normal, he still manages to keep a straight posture and move graciously. The pace is slow and comfortable. The avatar of pride seems to be taking it easy today, since he doesn’t twirl you around and such. The only movements are small steps to one side and to the other. One step forward, one step backward. But you can’t complain; just to stay next to him like that is enough. It was a good night too. Relaxing and fun. 

The light of the moon and the stars shine brightly over the large windows of the music room. The brothers all deserve a great breakfast tomorrow for their hard work and for persuading you to do this. Your eyes meet Lucifer’s again, half lidded and only looking at you. This feeling in your chest can only be the sweet taste of happiness. Finally, you feel free from your worries and only focus on the moment. Drunk Lucifer is so affectionate and wild, you’d have never guessed it.

“Don’t you want to sing anything else?” Lucifer asks after a few minutes.

“Yes!” you burst out before thinking twice.

Which song though? If a few messy lines from Fall Out Boys gave you a dance, maybe you should be boulder. Your choice is terrible, however, because it’s going to sound like a confession.

“Telephone by Waterparks,” you announce, as if he would know it.  _ “I'd like to know your middle name. Let's talk about your parents and your future dreams. I'm interested but distant to your fault, And I'd never want to complicate your heart. I've gotta let you know.  _ **_That I think that I love you so!_ ** _ ” _ You scream instead of sing, excited for a change. It just feels so exhilarating to finally sing it out loud. Your drunk state definitely helps to numb some of that pesky anxiety and your sense of shame, which are constantly stopping you from being bolder with your feelings about Lucifer. The avatar of pride’s eyes widen. Despise his clearly shocked expression, you love this song too much, so you simply keep singing the whole thing, grinning like an idiot. “ _ I've gotta let you know. 'Cause I think that I love you so. You could be my only one. 'Cause I think that I love you so. I know we only just met. So why do I feel invested? And do you feel it too? Do you feel it too? I can be your best yet. Future favourite regret. Do you feel it too? Do you feel it too? So I'll just tell my telephone. All of the above when I'm alone. So I'll just tell my telephone. All of the above when I'm alone.” _

You are a giggling mess and out of breath when you finish singing. Though you are  _ very _ embarrassed, it feels good to lift this burden, you feel lighter. If there’s a demon that can take a hint in this house, that demon is Lucifer.

“Ah, sorry, I really like this song and got excited,” you apologize. “I should play the actual thing on my D.D.D., I don’t do it justice!”

“No, no,” Lucifer quickly insists, holding you more firmly before you can escape his hold to go grab your D.D.D.. “I think your singing voice is lovely.” If you weren’t already as red as possible, you would have blushed. “You know, I want to sing a song for you too.”

“Oh?!” you exclaim excitedly.

“Yes.” He shows you a timid smile, which is lovely. “I was doing research on music from the human world lately,” Lucifer explains. Your total attention is on him now. “I found a song that I became quite fond of, should I sing to you?” Oh,  _ wow _ . You nod immediately, feeling a bit more sober already. This is so exciting! Your singing did bring nice stuff! Must be an old song with intricate and profound lyrics. Lucifer clears his throat. “ _ Though I've tried before to tell her. Of the feelings I have for her in my heart. Every time that I come near her, I just lose my nerve. As I've done from the start.” _ His voice is soft and calming, and raw emotion drips from every word. He's singing from his heart.  _ “Every little thing she does is magic. Everything she do just turns me on. Even though my life before was tragic. Now I know my love for her goes on. _ ”

Caught dumbfounded, you have no reaction but to stare at Lucifer with a stupid expression. ‘ _ Is this a confession?! Is the ‘She’ Lucifer is singing about…me?!’ _ You’re pretty sure you stopped dancing too. He gets closer, still humming to the song. That’s not what you were expecting. And you know the song, of course, your father loved listening to The Police. That box of CDs…it has one album from them…and Every Little Thing She Does is Magic is there. You  _ knew _ it, he legit did research to know what you liked to listen to and bought a bunch of CDs for you. That has to be the most thoughtful thing someone has ever done for you.

_ “I resolved to call her up a thousand times a day. And ask her if she'll marry me in some old fashioned way. But my silent fears have gripped me long before I reach the phone. Long before my tongue has tripped me. Must I always be alone?” _ He sings another part of the song. It’s a lively and cute song, but the way he sings the last few verses is so heavy with melancholy that it almost saddens you. Are the fears that stop you from (properly) confessing your love to Lucifer the very same fears he feels for you? Those doubts end today.

“Can I sleep in your room today?” you ask all of a sudden. It seems to surprise Lucifer. In fact, your own words scare you. Truth be said, you miss sleeping besides him. All you want now is to lay in bed with Lucifer and have a serious conversation. Ask him, directly to his eyes,  _ ‘do you love me?’ _ Hopefully the avatar of pride is more honest when drunk. So far, he seems to be softer, nicer. If it backfires horribly, you can run away. Or accept your unrequited love and move on. Either way, what you want now is an answer.

The record that plays on the gramophone is just a distant noise at this point. Lucifer is hesitating too much right now. He keeps blinking and looking around the room before facing you again. His lips start curving on one side when his eyes meet yours again. Some devious plan must have grown in his head.

“Only if you let me kiss you,” he says in a breathy way. His eyes are dark with want.

In a moment of confidence, you decide to play along.

“Then kiss me.”

The confidence and resolution in your voice and expression have shaken him off again, but only for a second this time, because he smiles wholeheartedly and, in the next second, he’s bending over and kissing you.

Your eyes close instinctively and your arms reach to rest around Lucifer’s neck. The bitter taste of the demonus he drank invades your mouth. Though you’re not a fan of said taste, it’s the least of your problems. Lucifer kisses you deeply, hungrily. His hands go up and down your back, bringing you impossibly closer to him, to the point you’re pressed against him, chest to chest. Though you have been longing so much for this moment, you feel light headed. As you’re not used to kissing, you can’t seem to kiss and breathe at the same time and oxygen starts depleting in your brain. Moving your hands to Lucifer’s chest ( _ 'damn, he’s so muscular’ _ ), you try to push him, until you can break the kiss to breathe some air.

Lucifer takes two heavy breaths too before he attacks your neck, kissing it hungrily just like your lips and making you shiver and moan. The memories of that time he kissed your neck came back to you; he must have been holding back for a lot longer than you had previously imagined. Because, if he was still holding back when he impulsively pinned you against the bed sheets of his room and kissed your neck and ears, then he’s lacking even more self-control now. It both scares and excites you. Lucifer kisses along your neck, up to your ear. He stops there for a second.

“I always wanted to do this,” he whispers, before resuming his kissing.

After giving you room to breathe, Lucifer goes back to kissing you on the lips, a little gentler and slower this time. But he still kisses like his life depends on it. Damn, you always wanted to do it too,  _ feels so good _ . His hand dips lower and gropes at your ass, making you yell into the kiss. Quickly, you move a hand to his and force it to return to your back. You can feel your cheeks being so hot right now. Lucifer takes advantage of your hand and interlaces it, then pulls you closer to him.

“Bed,  _ now _ . _ ” _

“Wh…”

You’re being pulled out of the room before you can even realize you’re walking again. Your drunken mind is still very foggy with all the intimate time. There is a very brief time when you can see the dirty table and the record that just stopped playing. Why is Lucifer in such a hurry that he ignores dirty dishes and leaves the lights on?

Before you can try to speak some sense to him, you see yourself in his room. It isn’t even that close! When did you even go downstairs? Time isn’t real.

He throws you into his bed, making you stumble into it, and goes back to the door. The sound of the door locking manages to make you more sober.  _ 'Why is he locking the door? _ ’ The mix of horny and fear is making it harder for your brain to make decisions.

“Wait—”

The demon doesn’t let you finish. His lips are on yours again. Back again, pinned on his bed, under the powerful demon. The rational part of your brain is starting to hate how the kisses from Lucifer retain you at his mercy. You feel like you’re being drowned by his sheer need of physical  _ touch _ . His hands keep on feeling you all over, your arms, your face, your hair, your stomach. Every new place you feel the touch of his bare hands sends another shiver through your body and causes the skin to feel like it’s burning. You can’t stop yourself from getting more and more aroused by the endless streak of kisses. Not that you are acting any different; nails are scratching Lucifer’s clothes on his back, desperate to hold on  _ something _ . 

A hand lingers at your waist for a moment before pulling your shirt up, exposing both your belly and chest. Ok,  _ that _ got your attention. Opening your eyes, you stare at Lucifer. He moves away from your neck to lower himself on your chest. For a second you only watch in shock because there’s no way he is going to do what you think he’s going to do. But he does. Lucifer takes a nipple in his mouth and the sensation is violent in your body. It feels weird, but at the same time, you feel an incredible pleasure. If the demon keeps getting his way you won’t wake up as a virgin tomorrow.  _ This isn’t what you agreed to do! _

“Luci… Lucifer!” you call him, but he keeps on kissing and touching your skin. His other hand is now at your other nipple, making you shudder and moan. It feels good, but you don’t want this to keep moving so fast. By focusing, you are able to ignore the immense pleasure for a few seconds and invoke a flash of rage, making you able to focus on the power from the avatar of wrath. “ENOUGH!”

Your hand flies to his side, and the distinct sound of a slap echoes through the silent and dark room. Lucifer stops immediately. He pulls himself back a little and you can see his glowing red eyes. ‘ _ Ah, I’m going to die.’ _ The hand that slapped him falls back to the bed. All the pleasure and want from seconds ago starts to die out, and your sweat feels cold on your skin. Lucifer was going to fuck you before, but now he’s going to  _ kill _ you and one of those things is a significantly bigger problem than the other.

His irritation only lasts for a couple seconds, however. Lucifer turns away, groaning. Not a single muscle of yours dares to move, anxiously waiting to see his reaction. After a sigh, he looks back, and the fire in his eyes has died out. Looks like you will manage to live one more day.

“Looks like I lost myself here for a moment…I apologize.” Lucifer's voice carries tiredness. Now he does look tired. His hair is so messy, going in every direction, and part of it is falling into his eyes. His clothes are all messy too. It makes him even  _ more _ attractive. He looks more human, without all that perfectness he’s always showing around.

Lucifer moves slightly above you, until he lets himself fall over your body. All the muscles in you tense. The avatar of pride buries his head into the crook of your neck and stays there.

“Tsuki… _ Tsukishima _ .” It’s been so long since someone called your full name, you had almost forgotten what it sounded like. He hugs you tightly, arms around your back. Then he gets very still. “Can I stay like this for a while? Please.”

Something in his voice makes his pleas feel legit. Did he ever say ‘please’ before? You can’t remember. A sigh escapes your lips, a breath you have been holding for a long time. One of your hands goes to stroke Lucifer’s messy hair. It’s so soft. He hums quietly, but keeps himself still. Well, if he’s behaving himself now, you don’t see a problem.

“Sure.”

Now that all that fire has died out, you start feeling tired too. So very tired. You close your eyes, trying to recall the events that lead you to this outcome. But you relax soon after, cuddling with Lucifer, and fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HSSJGDHJMGSVSHDGHFHGJCGSDGHS  
> This chapter got too long I had to stop here;;


	12. Wake up, Sunshine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, there it is! Part 2 of chapter 10!
> 
> “Wake up, sunshine. Somebody loves you for yourself. Wake up, sunshine. Somebody loves you, somebody loves you.”  
> Waku up, Sunshine by All Time Low.   
> \+ Check out Only by Imagine Dragon if you want, it fits Lucifer/Tsuki relationship pretty well.

**Chapter 10.5 – Wake up, Sunshine**

Waking up, you can only feel that your body is heavy and warm. You don’t even find the dark grey room strange anymore. Lucifer’s bedroom. Which means. Trying to look behind yourself, you see him. The demon is sleeping all over you, with his chest and face pressed on your back. That’s an unusual sleeping position. It’s a bit cute…but he’s so  _ heavy _ . And it feels a bit hard to breathe. Moving around, it takes a minute or two to free yourself from his tight embrace. Looking back at Lucifer, you see he hasn’t moved, and is still asleep. Also unusual. You would have bothered to pay more attention if you weren’t desperate to use the bathroom. 

After relieving yourself, you can feel a headache and an upset stomach. Is a panic attack on the way or are you just hungry? There’s no way to know!

Lucifer is still in the very same position on the bed. Strange, he usually wakes as soon as you move. You sit on the bed beside his body and start tapping his cheeks. He grunts after a while and moves. You watch silently as he turns in the bed and brings his hands to his head, groaning.

“My head throbs.”

‘ _ Oh, he’s hungover.’ _ Very, by the way, since he doesn’t even tell you good morning before getting up and going to the bathroom.  _ ‘What am I, invisible?!’  _ Crossing your arms, you wait patiently for his return. Your eyes travel around the room but you can’t seem to find your D.D.D.. Oh right, it’s in the music room, since you two left the place in a hurry last night. A shiver travels down your body when you remember last night. Where’s that damn demon? You need to know what last night means to him before you go crazy.

The demon leaves his bathroom after a few minutes. He has gotten rid of the waistcoat and the top buttons of his shirt are still open. He didn’t bother combing his hair, and actually, he looks like trash. Must be feeling like trash too. You didn’t drink nearly as much as the avatar of pride and you’re feeling less than good. Still ignoring you, he walks to a drawer and fumbles there for something. He gets a small bottle— seems like a medicine. Lucifer passes a hand through your hair when he (finally) notices you are staring at him.

“Did you sleep well?” He has a small smile and you nod. “Good. I’m feeling terrible, I need some water.”

After that statement, he turns, unlocks his door and goes out, leaving you behind without another word. Wait,  _ what? _

“Lucifer.” You stand up and rush to him. “We need to  _ talk _ .”

A loud groan leaves his lips.

“We’ll talk when my head stops hurting.”

Your mouth opens to protest, but you close it. This crush has been dragging for so long, you can wait a little more till Lucifer sobers up a little. Still, you follow Lucifer to the kitchen, where he goes straight to the fridge to get some water to drink with his medicine.

It’s still very dark outside; it must be early in the morning, which means you didn’t sleep a lot. You look at one of the windows, wondering if you should go upstairs to retrieve the dirty glasses, empty bottles and D.D.D.s. Lucifer interrupts your thought to ask you to brew some coffee for the both of you, a new type he bought recently. Nodding, you search for the ‘special’ brand he bought, called Hell’s Coffee ( _ ‘what a creative name’ _ ). While cooking some eggs, you gather cookies and bread from yesterday on the ‘Hidden from Beel’ enchanted cabinet and organize everything on the table. Lucifer sits in silence at the small kitchen table. His eyes are only half open; he must be pretty sleepy. Meanwhile you are a pile of nerves, only calm on the outside. At least cooking and working distracts you a little.

When everything is ready, you sit at the table and hand Lucifer his coffee. You put the coffee in random mugs only to spite him, since he’s quite fond of the delicate porcelain cups that he uses frequently. The fear of breaking one stops you from using the fancy stuff. Lucifer puts an extra quantity of sugar in his coffee, you notice, before taking a sip. He makes a disgusted expression right after and puts the coffee down.

“This is  _ awfully _ bitter.”

“What? Really?” Did you make something wrong? You never mess up coffee. “If I had to do something special with this brand you should have told me beforehand!” You eye the coffee in front of you suspiciously. It smells like normal coffee. Taking a slow, tentative sip, afraid of the bitterness, you taste it. But, to your surprise, it doesn’t taste out of the ordinary. “It’s not!” you yell at him. “Are you making fun of me?”

Lucifer starts laughing. He shakes his head.

“No, you did nothing wrong, Hell’s Coffee is supposed to taste bitter when you prepare it for someone you’re fond of,” he finishes with a wink.

You blush, but you don’t buy it. He’s not making fun of your crush on him, right?

“Stop lying. It doesn’t taste bitter to me.”

“Well, obviously not,” he says, a bit more seriously, but still with a smile on his face. “Since you are the one who made the coffee, it will taste normal to you.” Your eyes are still suspicious and Lucifer’s smiles become wider. “Should I brew you some, then?”

Not waiting for an answer, he gets up and goes to the counter to make Hell's Coffee for you. Still not buying the whole thing, you watch his every move carefully. Lucifer chuckles at your intense stare.

“Are you afraid I’m going to make some magic? I’m not.”

At least he’s in a good mood. If only you had your D.D.D. here, a quick search on the internet would give you an answer. Lucifer brews the coffee and puts it in one of his favorite cups, a white porcelain cup with blue fancy marks. From what you see, he didn’t do any magic trick to it. The avatar of pride sets it in front of you and hangs there with an excited expression and an easy smile. Grabbing the cup, you smell the coffee: it seems normal. You put extra sugar in it before blowing off some steam to taste. The bitterness of the coffee makes you unable to keep drinking. You put the cup down and cough after swallowing it.

“This is the bitterest coffee I’ve ever drunk in my life!” you exclaim. Holy shit, he is telling you the truth. The bitter taste is so strong you’re forced to get some water from the fridge. As you drink the water, realization hits you—Lucifer is also very fond of you, otherwise the coffee wouldn’t taste like that. “Wait, you actually love me back?”

Back at his seat, Lucifer smiles sadly at your words. He’s quiet for a moment, looking at his bitter, undrinkable, coffee.

“It’s been a while, since I noticed…my feelings for you have changed,” he starts. “To be fair, you were a real  _ pain _ to deal with. A handful. I didn’t like how you kept messing with our family business. But it changed. You are very special, more special than difficult. You have changed my brothers…and me as well.” He makes a small pause, smiling. “I’ve had a fair share of lovers, I think, but less than my brothers for sure. And I don’t think I ever loved them. I love my brothers and I loved Lilith, but what I feel for you is not quite the same feeling. It’s different. I want to protect you, but I also want you to be  _ mine _ , and mine alone. And to do so many unspeakable things to you…” he pauses again, looking down. Well, you can testify that he wanted to do unspeakable things last night. “I tried to push those feelings aside for a long time, pretending they didn’t exist, but the more I forced myself to ignore them, the stronger they got. To the point I almost lost my self-control.” He pauses again, and takes a sip of the coffee, making you scream at him to not drink it. “Of course, I’m going to drink every last drop of your feelings,” he laughs playfully. As he puts the cup down, his expression turns serious. “I lost my control yesterday. I only wanted to kiss you a bit but it escalated quickly, I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.” He didn’t blame the alcohol, you notice.

He goes silent again and you can feel your heart aching. Why does he look so  _ sad? _ You basically told him you love him. Is it the regret for acting out of line last night or is he hating himself for not telling you earlier?

“Why didn't you tell me sooner?!” Your voice is higher than normal and it cracks at the end. Your throat tightens, a cry starting to form.

“To be honest…I never thought you would reciprocate my feelings.” He’s looking down, ashamed. “Considering how I mistreated, threatened, and attacked you, I didn’t think it was possible. And maybe one of my brothers would suit your taste better, someone who has been always nice to you, like Satan.” Well, you can’t really blame him for thinking you’re into Satan. The avatar of wrath is so perfect and you two get along well. “Only recently I decided I should try to court you, because I started wondering…if maybe you love me back.”

“Urg…” you groan in displeasure. _This_ explains all the sudden gifts! “And **I** thought _you_ would _never_ fall in love with _me!”_ You exclaim distraughtly. “After all, I’m just a troublesome, clumsy, and hopeless human that has _nothing_ to offer to you, a powerful, old and handsome demon.” Heartbeat going crazy, eyes burning, you can already feel an ugly cry taking over. You are angry, not at the stupid demon, but at yourself, for this ridiculous self-doubt and insecurity. “Why didn't you act like the demon you are and try to seduce me ?”

Unbelievable. All the suffering, for nothing… He liked you back the whole time. A part of you wishes he had forced himself on you, tried to get you to love him. But the other part is glad it wasn’t the case and that Lucifer would rather let you love whomever you want, even if it was one of his brothers. 

Lucifer stands and walks to you. You hate his silence. It makes your brain overthink, not even knowing where to start. You’re feeling way too many things at once. Relief, happiness, anger.

“We are both  _ idiots _ , Lucifer!” you cry out as the tears start to roll down your face.

“We are.” He kneels before you and brings a hand to dry your tears. Opening your eyes to look at him, you see a timid smile on his face as he cups your cheeks and cleans the tears away. However, you keep on sobbing and Lucifer moves to get some paper tissues from the table. He stays there, drying your tears and holding your hand, kneeling in front of you.

“Please don’t cry, I love you.” His words snap you back to look at him, gently kissing the back of your hand. “I can say the words now, as many times as needed, until you start believing them. I love you, Tsuki.”

Lucifer has said the words you never thought you would listen to. Someone loves you. Lucifer loves you. Your shocked state remains for a couple seconds, eyes big and staring at him. Until your brain reminds you that,  _ yes _ , you totally heard that right. The avatar of pride totally said it. Then you tackle him, hugging the demon on the kitchen floor and hitting him with your knee. Crying even more over his messy clothes.

“I love you too…” you weakly whisper next to his ear in between your ugly sobs. Honestly, you still can’t believe this is really happening. Lucifer hugs you in return and pats your back. He’s humming Every Little She Does Is Magic again. Ah, you could die right now, in this moment, set between Lucifer’s legs, kneeling on the kitchen floor with him, and it would be alright.

A noise from the kitchen’s door startles you and Lucifer, both turning to stare at what caused such noise. Beel is at the entrance with a guilty expression, as if he were caught emptying the fridge.

“Sorry.” He's the tallest demon, but he seems to shrink thanks to what can only be fear, and steps away, towards the door. “I woke up hungry and came to get some food, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop on you two but…”

“How long have you been here, Beel?” Lucifer asks, still very calm. You slowly get off Lucifer to watch his expression. There’s no sign of irritation on him. If anything, Lucifer is more surprised than angry for the interruption.

Beel looks to the side, nervous, and he starts to fidget with his hands.

“Since Tsuki said ‘why didn't you tell me sooner’?”  _ ‘That long?! He heard the whole thing!’ _ “They sounded like they were going to cry so I stood here worried if something serious was happening.”

“Ah…” He was only worried about you. That’s really sweet. “Thanks, Beel, I’m not angry. Quite the opposite, frankly,” you laugh weakly. Your throat feels dry.

Beel’s almost walking out of the door, watching his older brother carefully.

“And you, Lucifer?”

“Not angry.”

“Really?” He enters the kitchen, taking calculated steps. “Then, can I have breakfast with you two?”

Lucifer nods and has to laugh again. That’s just so  _ Beel _ . The avatar of gluttony lets himself be more at ease. He goes straight to the fridge and then into the cabinets. Lucifer helps you dry the last of your tears and you have to ask him to brew some  _ normal _ coffee for everyone. He laughs but agrees. There’s no way he is happy with the disgusting bitter coffee he insisted on drinking. Even though you know it only tastes awful because he likes you so much, it still tastes bad. The avatar of gluttony joins at the table and you have some nice breakfast in silence.

“So, from what I got, you two like each other?” Beel says, breaking the silence. He’s still eating like nothing out of the ordinary is happening, while you blush again and send a worried look to Lucifer. The avatar of pride catches your expression.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“So, you’re dating now?”

“D-d-dating?!” you stutter. Freaking out, you turn to Lucifer again. “Are we da-dating, Lucifer?”

Lucifer takes a hand to his mouth, trying to hide his smile.

“Only if you want to.”

It’s impossible to blush even harder. You take a moment to calm yourself enough to find your voice.  _ ‘Dreams do come true.’ _

“I want to!” you almost scream for the whole house to hear. “Please! Be my boyfriend!”

_ ‘Oh my, I actually said that!’ _

“I would be honored to,” Lucifer tells you with a big and sweet smile on his face.

The happiness you are feeling is indescribable. For the first time in a long time, you feel nothing but pure bliss. Lucifer agreed to date you! Your massive crush actually loves you back!

“I’m so happy for both of you,” Beel says with a smile. “Seeing Tsuki dating one of my brothers makes me see you as part of the family already.”

“Thanks, Beel,” you say, a bit shy.

“So, can I tell everyone or do you want to…?” Beel asks.

“That’s a good question,” Lucifer says. “I don’t mind, personally, but I’d rather it be a secret from others outside the House.” He looks at you seriously. “There are enemies of Diavolo, and his enemies are my enemies too. I’m afraid that some of those demons may think hurting you is a good way to hurt  _ me _ . Do you understand, Tsuki?”

You wouldn’t have ever thought of such a thing, but it makes sense.

“Yes, I can understand, Lucifer. It’s fine. Though, I wonder if Mammon is able to find out by himself.”

Lucifer and Beel both laugh.

“That’s not a bad idea either,” the avatar of pride smiles deviously. “What do you say we make a bet? We let my brothers find out our new relationship by themselves.”

“I bet Mammon will be the last.”

“That’s obvious,” Lucifer is not amused. “Choose a time frame. And you, stay quiet, Beel, this is our secret now.”

“Sounds like fun,” Beel nods.

Even though you do want to tell your friends about dating Lucifer, this is a funny thing to do. You agree. You bet it will take over two weeks for Mammon to get it and Lucifer bets it'll take him a month or more. Beel laughs a lot at your bets.

Breakfast is cooked by both you and Lucifer, using the matching “Best Cook” aprons. While Lucifer’s is a white and dark blue, simple apron, yours is decorated with Chibi demons similar to those on the stickers you normally use on the chat app. They’re all in black with strong neon pink and blue colors on the Chibis. Beel keeps smiling the whole time but the others don’t notice a thing, other than the good humor all three of you were on.

Is it the good mood or the fact that the best cooks made the food today that made it taste better? If you have to pick, both. Seeing that their plan worked, the demon brothers all stay in a good mood too. Before going to your room, Levi, Satan, Mammon and Asmo all stop you in the hallway to gush about yesterday. Your face gets  _ so _ red, but you just tell them that you both got drunk as hell and talked all night long. And that you and Lucifer collapsed in his bed in the middle of the night (that part is half correct). While the demon brothers obviously only praised themselves for their good plan you can’t even be angry, it worked wonders in the end. 

In these calm days, without RAD, legit every brother called you to do a different activity. Even Belphie this time. The twins are making a movie marathon. Levi is streaming a new anime, Satan will be reading mystery books, Asmo is organizing his new clothes and makeup, and Mammon is doing Mammon’s shit, planning some scheme. Lucifer said he has a lot of work to do, but today you really wish you could just spend the whole day with the Mighty First Born. You two  _ just _ started dating and his brothers aren’t forcing you to tag along with them today. While lying in bed, you start trying to swallow your shyness to invite Lucifer to your room. 

In the meanwhile, you search for some songs. Every time you remember yesterday it becomes more and more surreal. Confession by singing a song? That is the smoothest and cutest way of confessing you have ever seen before. Well, you kind of did the same, but Lucifer had planned his, you kind of went with the flow. It makes you so happy you have some common interest with Lucifer, both being absolute music nerds, in your own fields. Lucifer prefers classical and orchestral and rambles a long time about his favorite classical music group. He also likes rock and metal, but didn’t talk much about those genres yesterday. More importantly, the fact that the avatar of pride is willing to research human music for you is a declaration of love on its own. Now you are researching songs yourself. Something cute and deep to share with him. Reading every single Imagine Dragons song lyric is also a fun pastime.

**Tsukishima**

_ Luciiiiii~ _

_ Check out this song. _

[link]

_ Only by Imagine Dragons. _

_ I think it fits us! I like this part: _

_ “Tell me the things that you want (you want). I give you all that I've got (I've got)” because it’s so you! _

**Lucifer**

_ I’ll give it a listen. _

Well that can take a while. You switch apps and keep making a new playlist, letting Only play in the background. Not the most romantic song in the world, but you feel like the lyrics fit the most. In about five minutes, Lucifer sends you a new text. So, he heard it right away? You thought he was deep in his work.

**Lucifer**

_ I like when the singer says “My disaster,” it’s a good nickname for you. _

**Tsukishima**

_ Fuck you. _

**Lucifer**

:laugh sticker:

_ “My disaster, you're my only answer _

_ You got me thinking that I could be your master.” _

_ I like this part a lot. _

_ ‘My Disaster’ is now your name on my contact list. _

**Tsukishima**

_ I’ll kill you. _

:doom sticker:

**Lucifer**

:laugh sticker:

_ You can try. _

_ ‘At least he is sending me the laughing sticker,’ _ you think. How dare he. You never got so angry at something you one hundred percent agree with. Maybe you should change his name in your contact info too. You always wanted to call him ‘Luci’ just like Simeon does anyway. Another text catches your attention.

**Lucifer**

_ It’s a good song. _

He’s making it hard to not invite him over. Urg.  _ ‘Just do it!’ _ Whining mentally, you type the words, and stare at them for what seems like forever. You are seeing dots in your vision from looking so fixedly at the screen when you finally press send.

**Tsukishima**

_ Wanna come to my room? _

_ Spend time together? _

_ I refused all your brothers’ invitations today. _

**Lucifer**

_ Tempting. _

_ But I should be working. _

**Tsukishima**

:middle finger emoji:

_ I GUESS that new anime Levi is watching is pretty cool. _

_ Maybe I’ll change my mind and join Beel’s sleepover. _

_ Ur name is now ‘Luci <3’ on my contact list. _

**Lucifer**

_ “Oh, pretty baby, you're my motivator _

_ Got me changing my words and my behavior _

_ Pretty lady, you're my operator _

_ Got me dialing your number just to hear ya.” _

**Tsukishima**

_ I made a mistake. _

**Lucifer**

_ Don’t change your mind in the next fifteen minutes, my little disaster. _

_ Wait for me. _

**Tsukishima**

_ Suddenly, I can’t read. _

Kidding, of course. There’s no way you’re not waiting for Lucifer.

You resume your work, mindlessly listening to music and spending time on the D.D.D.. He takes more than fifteen minutes, which leaves you both bored and anxious. He’s just working, no need to listen to those awful intrusive thoughts telling you bad things. Don’t listen to them. They are wrong.

Mammon is bothering you now, calling you to help with his new plan to make some easy money. He never learns. There’s a soft knock on your door and you fly off the bed, so fast that you feel light headed. Shaking the sudden dizziness again, you open the door to greet Lucifer. He’s impeccable as always, but without his coat today. He has a sinful smirk on his face.

“Too late, I was leaving,” you lie, not even able to take a stupid smile off your face.

“To meet who?  _ Mammon _ ?” he scorns. “You are not going anywhere, I’m afraid. It would be a big sin to refuse an invitation from the most popular human from the House of Lamentation, therefore, I am here now.”

“It is,” you agree proudly. “I don’t know what other humans also live here but I can get rid of them.” Lucifer chuckles. He spares no more time and enters the room, closing the door behind him.

“Oh, I’m sure you can, no one is a match for you. But don’t worry, you are the only one, Tsuki.”

Your heart is beating fast and you can’t drop your smile. Sweet praises make your feel so well. The flirting  _ (‘that’s how normal people flirt, right?’ _ ) had to stop here, because Lucifer invades your personal space and kisses you with desire.

Immediately, you melt into his touch and kiss him back. Ahh, you have been waiting for this since this morning. Would he even kiss you in the kitchen if Beel wasn’t around? You wanted to, but it felt weird to do it right in front of Beel. Then the others came and after breakfast everyone went to do something else.

Lucifer guides you around, making you walk backwards, back to your bed. However, this time he breaks the kiss and falls heavily into your bed, pulling you along. You end up awkwardly on top of Lucifer. You stay still for a moment, not knowing what you’re supposed to do next. The demon smiles and pulls you closer after a short moment, and now he’s back to kissing your lips hungrily. Sitting between his legs, you make out for a while. Lucifer’s hand travels your body, with soft touches, while you keep your hands on his neck and hair. His hand settles on your waist after a while, and he seems content to just let you have your way, kissing him and messing his perfectly put together hair. After a few minutes, you’re so into it that you move to give Lucifer butterfly kisses along his neck. The avatar of pride hums happily while stroking your hair with one of his hands.

All that confidence starts dying when Lucifer remains calm in bed, leaving you to do all the work. You stop and bury your head in his neck, letting your arms hang loosely on his shoulders. You sigh dreamily and smell his clothes; you can feel the smell of some cologne that the demon likes using. Lucifer keeps on stroking your hair with a gentle touch, the action making you sleepy.  _ ‘So happy. This is what happiness feels like, lying lazily in the arms of a loved one.’ _

“Tsuki, I did some research into a human term you used before,” Lucifer says, forcing you to sigh and open your eyes. You sit straighter, to have a good look at him. Here we go, what’s he even going to say? “I found out 'asexuals' do not experience sexual attraction and normally don’t want to engage in sexual activities, but it seems that there’s many labels and I want to ask about your personal experiences.”

Your cheeks start getting red from embarrassment. How does he…? Oh right, you did tell him you’re ace. Does he research  _ everything _ you say that he doesn’t know? That’s some real dedication. Or he simply hates not knowing something. But truth be said, this is a necessary conversation that you thought of having a few days into the relationship, but if he wants to do it now, there’s no reason to run away.

“Uh, where do I start…?” you wonder out loud. He caught you so off guard here. Looking round the room, you try to organize your thoughts. “First, I want to thank you for doing research on human terms that you didn’t know. I didn’t expect you to dedicate part of your time and efforts into it, seeing as you’re always busy, but it makes me happy. You are right, asexuality is a big spectrum and there’s many different aces.” Ok, not a bad start. Lucifer is looking attentively at you, but you feel forced to look away to be able to continue. “Personally, I never had sex before and I would be happy to never experience it. I’m more apathetic to sex than repulsed, though. But, since we are  _ dating _ , and you’re like, very mature and experienced, I guess I don’t mind trying it with you…NOT NOW!” you add quickly, almost yelling. Lucifer looks a bit startled by your sudden rise in volume. Oh damn, you just didn’t want him to try anything right now. “Sorry! I’m just…not ready? Wait, I don’t think you would get it…I need some time. We  _ just _ got together too; I wouldn’t like to move things too fast.” You pause to look at Lucifer. He has some sort of puzzled expression. “Are you even following what I’m trying to say? Am I rambling too much?”

He actually hesitates for a second and Lucifer  _ never _ hesitates.

“For the most part,” he admits. Then he sighs and assumes a serious expression. “I get it, you don’t want to have sex now, it’s ok, I won’t force you.”

“Really?” you look at him, shocked, but Lucifer is keeping his serious semblance. “Is it not a big deal? Are you willing to wait for it?”

“Tsuki, I am a few thousand years old demon and not some high on hormones teenager,” he says, very seriously. “Besides, I am perfectly happy just being beside you. After waiting so long to finally be able to kiss you, I don’t mind waiting a bit longer to have you give yourself completely to me.”

Now you’re blushing again.

“Are you shameless?” you murmur, looking at his gloved hands.

Instead of replying, Lucifer chuckles and plants a kiss on your forehead. Slowly, you raise your eyes back to his face. The demon looks sincere. His words make you feel better. Lucifer wanting to have a more physical relationship was always a big fear for you.

“Thank you,” you whisper in his ear, before kissing him on the cheek.

“Is there any place where I shouldn’t touch you?” Lucifer asks when you meet eyes with him again. Better grab some marriage papers, because this  _ catch _ cares about not making you uncomfortable, setting boundaries and not forcing himself on you.

“Uh, anywhere that’s inappropriate,” you trail off, not wanting to elaborate.

He raises an eyebrow.

“Which are…?”

“Gah! It doesn’t matter!” You quickly brush it off, this conversation is already too embarrassing. “Let’s agree on doing this: if you touch me in a place I do not like, I'll let you know and you can refrain from touching there again.”

“Hmm, if you’re fine with it, then it works for me.”

“Great. Great, that was a nice conversation, I’m glad it’s over now.”

Lucifer chuckles before hugging you and bringing you closer to him.

“My little virgin is so sensitive.”

“Th-There’s nothing wrong with being a virgin…”

“Of course not.”

He starts kissing your face again. He must be pleased with your honestly too. It's a good thing Lucifer came to ask you those questions, it means he values your boundaries. You feel like there’s nothing to worry about for now, since your main concern was if it would be a deal breaker to not want to have any sex for now. Lucifer can be very patient at times, and you’re glad for this.

The rest of the afternoon is spent cuddling and kissing with Lucifer on your bed. There’s no rush to do anything else now. For once, you are truly happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am displeased with the lack of asexual representation on the media as a whole so I made my own. Don't worry, I used a good source for this fic. Source: me
> 
> Little happiness corner: I love all my readers!!!! *sends hugs and kisses to everyone* Thank you for reading this story!!  
> <3 <3 <3


	13. Partners in Crime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Partners in Crime by Set it Off (feat. Ashley Costello)
> 
> Fun debating games: the title 'Partners in Crime' refers to who? Maybe it fits more than just two characters dynamics ;) Sometimes my own geniality scares me.

**Chapter 11 - Partners in Crime**

Being in a  _ secret _ relationship has proved to not be good for your anxiety. Now you feel anxious about being caught kissing Lucifer in a dark, empty corridor. Even though you know being caught in this case isn’t a bad thing, it also doesn’t ease your nerves.

But life must go on as normal (‘ _ unfortunately’ _ ), which brings you to RAD  _ (‘I hate this place’ _ ). It’s break time and Mephisto has come to pay you a visit.

“I apologize for my lateness. Sadly, it took me a few days to realize someone had cursed my crochet needles,” he explains, overly polite. “Sorry for talking so long, I hope you enjoy the new dolls!”

He hands you the latest crochet dolls for your collection: you and Mephisto. Instead of RAD uniforms, you requested him to make casual outfits for the two dolls. Yours is an annoyed looking Tsuki with black and purple clothes, including a hoodie, some spiked boots and pants and a cute frog shirt. Mephisto is  _ fantastic _ with crochet; this doll surpassed your expectations. His doll is using a simple blue turtleneck, a blue coat, jeans and a giant pair of blue glasses. It’s a bit simple, but still very cute, and his heterochromatic eyes are perfectly done too. Now the collection is almost complete. He has done the six demon brothers, Solomon and the angels for you. However, there’s Belphie now and you don’t feel like getting a doll of him. Mephisto had asked over the break if you wanted a Belphie too, but you refused saying you would end up putting fire to it and you don’t want to put fire on his creation. He laughed and dropped the subject.

“They are so good! I love them! You have a lot of talent, Memphis.” You hug both dolls. They are so  _ soft _ , just like the others, but you never get tired of hugging them. “I’ll bring your money tomorrow.”

“No problem! I’ll enjoy having my most loyal client satisfied for now,” he smiles. Despite him trying to scam you before, you two have grown closer. Especially after the fight. Now he has joined the demon brothers as someone who messages you constantly. He’s quite pleasant and listens to your endless complaints about life at the House of Lamentation (in exchange for you listening to his gossips). Now you kind of feel like he deserves a small token for all those dolls he makes (even though you still  _ pay _ for them).

“You said your needles were cursed? Why haven’t you told me that before?”

“Oh right, it was a pain.” He crosses his arms and sighs deeply, looking tired. “I was trying to crochet during the break but no matter how much I worked on it, my dolls and plushies never got done! I tried switching needles but it still ended up the same way. After a few days I realized it was some sort of curse and spent four whole days trying to lift the curse so I could work again. It was a shame, I lost a whole week, so many precious days wasted... After resorting to both Solomon and Satan we found out a way to get rid of the curse. Didn’t tell you because you’re always having to face some sort of problem or another and I didn’t want to push even more problems on your plate.”

Wow, he needed both Satan and Solomon to help?! Not only that, Mephisto manages to be even more sensitive than the demon brothers, not wanting to give you more headaches. The only ones who have this sort of conscience are Satan and Lucifer. Though you wouldn’t mind talking to Satan yourself to help him get rid of the curse. Damn, he’s so nice. Part of you is still shocked to have found such a chill demon to be your friend in RAD.  _ He _ you wouldn’t mind helping at all.

“Who did it? I just want to talk.” Not true in the slightest. You want to beat them to a puddle. How dare they bother your friend, making him incapable of doing what he loves? Guillotine for them.

“Please  _ don’t _ , I hear you stopped taking the demons' offenses lightly and go straight for a fight now.” His face gets alarmed and he shakes his head violently. “Besides, I don’t know who did it.”

“Oh, but I think we  _ do _ ,” you beg to differ. “What were their names again? Aim and Vesper?”

“Vepar.”

“Those two bitches!” The ones who bullied Mephisto. He and you fought at the end of the previous semester and the demon brothers had to step in to stop the fight. Supposedly they have been quieter ever since Satan scared them off and Lucifer and Diavolo gave them a long ass lecture. “Of course it was them, do we even have any doubt?”

“Uhh…  _ Maybe _ , it was them...” He looks away with a worried expression. “It’s ok, Tsutsu, you shouldn’t go on trying to piss them off again. They have been minding their own business lately.”

You cross your arms.  _ Unacceptable _ . Even if they have calmed down now, they should still face some kind of…

“Found you!” Mammon cheerfully says. You look to the side just in time to see the avatar of greed pass an arm around your shoulders and bring you closer to him. The very first thing he does is stare at your new dolls. “Why is your doll so close to Mephisto’s? They look like they are holding hands like this!”

Oh god, not the forbidden platonic hand holding. The biggest sin found in the Devildom.

“Because they are _great_ _friends_ ,” you say in an annoyed tone, still hugging both dolls over your chest. Mammon squints his eyes suspiciously. In your perimeter view, Mephisto looks like he’s blushing. “By the way Mammon, since Lucifer forbade me from fighting the demons, I need to get revenge in some other way.”

Mammon blinks while Mephisto gasps.

“What are you thinking?” Mephisto hurries to ask. Oh, he  _ is _ blushing a little. Poor thing must not be used to having a friend.

“Hey, that’s my line,” Mammon complains.

“If no one wants me to beat the demons to a puddle then I need to try something else. What if we prank them or pull a curse on them? Like, make them bark like dogs instead of talking. What they say is probably not important anyway.”

“Damn, TsuTsu, you’re metal,” Mephisto comments with awe. “Are you sure you’re not a demon yourself?”

Mammon laughs.

“This small thing? A vile and cruel demon, is what Tsuki is!” He taps your shoulders. “Actually, they are worse than a demon! Betcha don’t know them.”

“He actually knows me very…!”

“They trick us, see through our lies and order us around,” Mammon keeps talking over you. “They aren’t scared of anything! What the Hell, it’s like they don’t fear death! What a punk. It’s really annoying too, when they act like they are better and more intelligent than us.”

“If I’m not wrong, I stopped a bunch of ridiculous and idiotic things before and had to fix really easy problems and misunderstandings in the past,” you  _ politely _ remind him, feeling a bit annoyed by his rude words.

Mephisto stares at Mammon, pensive, for a moment.

“Doesn’t that mean you and your brothers are so dumb that you are easily influenced by a normal human?”

Mammon goes completely speechless by Mephisto’s comment and you let out a loud laugh. You have to leave the dolls on the ground to hold your stomach thanks to how much you’re laughing. Mammon starts stuttering and trying to say something, but he’s failing.

“Memphis, you’re the best.” You laugh even more. “They are  _ so _ dumb, Memphis! You have no idea of how much I suffer.”

Mephisto has to laugh as well. All while Mammon is screaming about not being dumb. You still laugh for five more minutes or so. Your stomach hurts and there are tears in the corners of your eyes. Mammon is pouting but it looks just like his tsundere self. Mephisto also had a good laugh.

“So,” you try speaking again. “What if we bang together to prank some bullies? They deserve some minor inconveniences.”

Mammon and Mephisto exchange some looks, but they agree with you. It's better than fist fighting again. You suggest getting Satan, the curse specialist, for help, a well-received suggestion.

It was the most hilarious thing ever. After class, you, Mephisto, Mammon, Satan and Levi all band together at the RAD library to discuss curses and pranks. Satan is the truly metal one because holy shit, dude really knows curses. He suggested some really wild stuff. Though cool and well deserved, the rest of you just wanted something more in the lines of public humiliation. You still wanted to go with the barking curse, but Satan said he knows one that will leave the person with a squeaky voice for a few days and you agree that it’s annoying enough to go for. In the midst of several other curse suggestions you jokily thought about changing their clothes to anime girl cosplay and Levi couldn’t be any more excited. Excited to the point the meeting had to end because Levi started rambling about magical girl anime and he wouldn’t stop. Not only that, the resident avatars of  **jealousy** also didn’t like the fact that you and Mephisto now have custom nicknames for each other. Their loss, you are not letting them call you Tsutsu, and you are not dropping the nicknames. The brothers can suffer, you aren’t exclusive to them.

The boys and you wait patiently until lunch break the next day to put the curses into action. Satan put a spell circle on the ground and told you and Mephisto to stay inside of it, so you two can stay hidden and watch the whole mess from a few feet away. The three demon brothers wait for Aim and his girlfriend Vepar (if you haven’t planned this whole revenge thing you wouldn’t know the two are dating) to come so they can curse them at any given second. When they do appear, you feel like it’s your lucky day and simultaneously, the unluckiest day for the demons, because the couple is talking with Allocer and his friend. Without losing a second, you text Satan and order him to curse the other two demons too. You can hear Satan’s evil laugh from his hiding spot.

“Wait, now I remember, Allocer is the captain of the fangol team, isn’t he? I can’t believe you tried to pick a fight with him,” Mephisto whispers besides you.

“Do you think I knew that?” you complain. And suddenly, the fact that the buffed-as-hell guy looked so familiar makes sense to you; he plays alongside Beel, you totally saw him playing before. And he called his team’s best player a ‘human fucker.’ Dude must really hate humans. You should tell Beel.

As soon as the demons cross paths with the demon brothers who are all quietly giggling in a corner behind a stone pillar, their clothes magically change to short and brightly colored dresses and a bunch of unnecessary ornaments you only see in anime clothing. The guys look all confused at the clothes while Vepar yells. She tries to tear the clothes apart and change it back, to no avail. Guess it’s not her style.

“What the  _ fuck _ ?!” she yells in a very high-pitched voice, just like some squeak toy. Her face twists in surprise and you and Mephisto start cracking up.

When the boys start to furiously try to tear their own cosplay clothes as well, the demon brothers can’t hold their laugh anymore. All it takes is for the demons to start complaining to hear their very squeaky voices and make everyone around laugh. Mammon starts laughing even louder while Satan bends over this stomach, laughing nonstop. However, Levi has a very serious expression. You try to control your laugh attack to see what is going on with Levi, since the avatar of envy is walking straight into the mess.

“No no no no, that’s all wrong!” Levi says sternly. “You aren’t acting like the Twinkle Hearts and Dreamy Crystal Magic Princesses!” he complains loudly. Of course he would take the cosplay seriously… “Hina-chan is supposed to act all shy and gracious, and you! Ai-chan absolutely loves her clothing! Stop trying to tear if off! Sayu-chan, the heartwarming leader, she…”

“So, you did this to us?!” Aim screams in his squeaky voice. Even Levi can’t keep a stern face at his squeaky voice and chuckles.

“You are going to  _ pay _ for it, Leviathan!” Allocer threatens him, but no one can take a toy voice seriously.

Levi doesn't look bothered in the slightest. Vepar, who is straight up not having a good time  _ (‘serves her right’ _ ), walks to Levi, grabbing him by his shirt collar. Levi suddenly looks more awake to the situation and both you and his brothers lose your smiles; Mammon and Satan are alarmed now.

“Take off these  _ stupid _ clothes right  _ now _ !” she demands.

_ Oh Hell _ , she shouldn’t have said that. In the same second Levi turns into his demon form and takes her hands off him with ease. He’s looking as pissed off as the day you won over him in the dumb quiz.

“YOU DARE INSULT MAGICAL GIRLS?!  **DIE** !”

Good Lord, you feel so much regret right now. In the very next second, everything goes to shit. Levi starts fighting teeth and nails against Vepar, so his brothers try to interfere…successfully starting a fight with the other three demons. They are  _ all _ in their demon forms now.

“It’s all my fault…” you whine, feeling a wave of dread cover you.  _ ‘This was supposed to be a harmless prank.’  _ You try to stand up but Mephisto holds your hand and tells you not to interfere with this. If you move out of the spell circle, everyone will see you. “Memphis, they are going to destroy half of RAD!”

“And  _ what _ you will do about it?!” He almost screams but tries to control the volume of his voice. Mephisto is looking at you with lines of worry on this face.

Well, he is right. You calm down and sit back. You must think of a way to stop this madness first. Looking back, you see Mammon throwing punches with Aim. Someone hit Satan on the face and now he is an angry mess. Levi just tried to summon Lotan but luckily another demon bumped into him and he stopped his summon mid-sentence, going back to raw fighting.

“Fuck, that looks terrible, Tsutsu,” Mephisto comments with a worried tone. “Should we call Lucifer?”

“Urg, I don’t want to, but…” Looks like you have no other choice but to call Lucifer, he’s the only one who can make those demons stop. But as soon as you take your D.D.D., you hear a very familiar voice.

“Maaaaammooon. Saataaan. Leviiiii.”

The fight scene freezes, literally. Every demon is suddenly frozen in time, as still as statues. Which is a bit funny, all things considered. Satan is with his fist in midair while holding Allocer by the collar, and the demon has his claws on his arm. Mammon is fighting Aim on the ground and both are in ridiculous positions, since they were trying to both kick and punch the other at the same time. Levi was throwing hands with Vepar and had the other demon, whose name you don’t know, with his tail wrapped around his neck. Levi was fighting both at the same time and he looked like he was  _ winning _ . Lucifer then appears in the hallway. He has a black aura around him, looking beyond pissed with his arms crossed over his chest.

“ **What is the meaning of this?** ” the avatar of pride asks ominously, but since he paralyzed everyone they can’t answer, only move their eyeballs in the direction of the demon. “All of you, student council,  _ right now _ .” Saying that, all demons jerk violently at once, falling to the ground and looking at Lucifer with terrified expressions. Immediately they are all reverted back to their human forms. “Suitable punishment is on the way. For  _ all _ of you.”

Without another word, Lucifer escorts all the demons to the student council. Mephisto and you only watch in silence.

“Good grief, Tsutsu, do you think he saw us here?” the demon asks. Even though you are both invisible, Mephisto has hidden behind you the second Lucifer appeared in his field of vision.

“It doesn’t matter, he’ll find out I planned the whole thing and will punish me too.”

“Well. It was good knowing you, my friend.”

“Thanks, the sentiment is reciprocal.”

When the hallway started getting empty, the two of you ran away, back to classes, pretending you saw nothing.

Later, in the House of Lamentation, you find out the brothers haven’t blamed you for the whole mess. Their love for you makes you feel even worse now; you should be punished too. But  _ no _ , they cover you. In fact, Levi even apologized for everything, but it seems like neither Mammon and Satan are currently talking to him. Wonderful, more relationships to fix  _ again _ . However, you can’t get angry at any of them. They didn’t lift the curses and when the brothers said it was revenge for actions against you, Lucifer didn’t attempt to lift the curse either. He said it should serve as a punishment too. Some good news, at least. Today you go to sleep early. Once the demons calm down you can attempt to talk to them.

Luckily, it wasn’t a pain in the ass to reconcile Satan, Mammon and Levi after that fiasco. All three of them had to endure Lucifer’s punishment anyway. All you needed to do was join all three and apologize, and they talked just as normal after a while. You still feel like it was such a miracle that the avatar of pride hasn't found out you were the mastermind all along. Maybe he’s just waiting to show how he knows at an opportune time. Every time you see any of the demons in the RAD hallway with their ridiculous magical anime girl clothes you burst out laughing. Since the blame has fallen all over the three demon brothers, not one of them decided to bother Mephisto or you, so, not everything was a total disaster in the end.

Saturday morning Lucifer calls you to meet him in the underground tomb after breakfast, hitting the anxiety button hard. ‘ _ Why does he want to meet me in the underground tomb?’ _ You don’t feel like going back to the tomb… Both times you went here ended up terribly. But when Lucifer ‘asks’ something it’s the same as an order so…

You are in front of the entrance of the fucking tomb, feeling like an anxious wreck. Ah, he’s so going to confront you about the curses, isn’t he? Maybe your punishment is playing fetch with Cerberus…you wouldn’t mind if the dog weren’t giant and capable of breathing fire.

When the demon appears you almost have a heart attack. He guides you inside. The tomb is the same as before, a grey and ghostly place, illuminated by thousands of candles and with several tombs. This place gives you the creeps. It also smells like dust and makes your nose itch.

“You must be wondering why I…”

“Sorry!” you say automatically.

Lucifer blinks, confused.

“Why are you apologizing?”

“Enough with the suspense! I know that you know, you just know everything!” you start saying in a hurried way. “The idea of cursing the demons at RAD was mine! It was all  _ my _ idea, I gathered Mammon, Satan and Levi together to think of a way to get revenge on those stupid demons without it being me beating their ass to the ground,” you tell him all at once. “But I have to say, the second I leave your stupid  _ as Hell _ brothers alone they go and burst everything out! I love Levi but he shouldn’t have acted like that. Literally  _ no one _ was supposed to know Satan cursed them! We were hiding! It should have worked if they weren’t so goddamned stupid!  _ Urg _ . No wonder you are always so stressed! They test the patience I don’t have. Keeping up with them will make my hair go white like yours!”

Lucifer keeps staring at you for a minute, expression neutral. He passes a hand on one of his lighter bangs and stares at it for a few seconds.

“You are quite the mastermind, aren’t you? I must say, I can’t even be angry, you are a genius.”

“Woah, really?”

“Indeed. To be honest, I knew you were involved somehow, but I didn’t think you orchestrated everything.” He smiles, all of sudden, making your heart skip a beat. “You never stop amazing me, Tsuki. But I didn’t bring you here to discuss how you can control my brothers for your own evil ends.”

“Oh.” Realization finally hits you. He didn’t call you here to talk about it? Then you go ahead of yourself and tell him everything. Dammed anxiety, could have lived without him knowing the extent of your actions. “Uh…what did you bring me here for then?” you ask carefully, hoping he is willing to drop the issue.

Lucifer chuckles under his breath. Maybe he’s not mad after all.

“I suppose I should give you a punishment as well, to make it fair with my brothers.” Ah, you and your big mouth, now you feel like you  _ do _ deserve it. Maybe now you can stop thinking ahead of yourself and play dumb till you are  _ sure _ Lucifer knows something. “But since you decided to use your wits and not go straight for another fight, I will give you a lighter punishment,” he explains, still in a good mood. “Let me think... Since you are so smart, I want you to help me with my work this week.” Just help him with some paperwork? Nice! Could be worse. You nod. “Very well, now that we settled it, I will reveal why I called you here: I want you to become more familiar to Cerberus.”

“Cerberus?”

As if waiting for his cue, you hear a low growl. From the depths of the underground tomb  _ (‘how big is this place?’ _ ) you see the massive hell dog coming. Though you are an animal person, that dog gives you the creeps. His nose is the size of your head, that’s unsetting. Cerberus looks more like a wild wolf than any breed of human world dog. The creature has black and dark brown fur, glowing orange eyes and is constantly breathing fire from all three of his mouths. He’s taller than any demon you have met so far. The dog may have the size of three bears, actually. Must be a pain to walk him or give him a bath.

Cerberus stops a few feet away from his owner and you hide behind Lucifer, making the demon chuckle at your fearful reaction. In the devildom biology classes you learned there are several types of hellhounds, and Cerberus’s is the rarest and strongest breed. Obviously, Lucifer would own only the best kind of any hell creature.

“Cerberus, do not attack Tsuki, do you understand me?” The dog growls again. “Come on, Tsuki, let Cerberus smell you.”

Lucifer holds your arm and urges you forward, but your feet feel like they are glued to the ground.

“Uh… Are you sure?”

“What is it? Fear?” He laughs for a second. “This isn’t like you.”

“Well, different from you and your brothers, who seem to have rational thoughts, this is a big and dangerous animal.”

“ _ ’Seem to have’ _ ?” he repeats amusedly. “You still say such rude statements.” He shakes his head disapprovingly. “Do not be afraid, I am here.”

He pushes you forward anyway. You stumble a bit and stop right in front of Lucifer’s infamous dog. Cerberus watches you from above for a minute, until he lowers one head and starts smelling you all over. To be honest, you’re more worried about being carbonized by the fire the creature breathes than being swallowed whole. Lucifer probably can help you if Cerberus tries to bite you, but you aren’t sure if even he can heal burned skin.

After a lot of sniffing around, Cerberus seems satisfied and sits on the ground, patiently waiting for orders.

“See, nothing bad will happen as long I’m here,” Lucifer says. Ok, it wasn’t so bad. Slowly, you let go of the death grip you have on Lucifer’s hand, now that you feel calmer.

“So, you keep Cerberus here to protect the grimoire, right?”

The avatar of pride takes a long stare at you, expression unreadable.

“I have pacts with five of your brothers, why would I need it?” you say, wondering if he’s thinking about you stealing it for heinous reasons.

“I believe you have no reason to steal it,” he agrees after a moment. “Besides, the grimoire also has a protection spell on the vines that cover it. And there are other important artifacts here.”

“The remains of dead demons are also powerful?” Taking a look around the tombs, you see nothing that catches your attention aside from some bigger stone statues. Your comment makes Lucifer laugh.

“No, they aren’t, but, just like the old Egyptians in the human world, some demons are buried with their favorite weapons or artifacts. There is quite some treasure inside a few of those tombs.”

“Really? That’s quite interesting.” You take another look around, wondering what kind of relics are buried here. “Was this house built over a cemetery or something?”

“Who knows,” Lucifer shrugs. It’s quite rare to see him not caring about something. “All I was told is that the previous owner was a mortician and a close friend of Lord Diavolo. Barbatos told me to ‘make sure my brothers don’t mess around in the tombs’ before moving here. So I decided to leave Cerberus instead of a protection spell, since they are all scared of him. Besides, Cerberus can’t be inside the house, he would leave everything covered in fur.”

“Is fur really the biggest problem?” Lucifer looks at you with a puzzled expression. “Your dog literally breathes fire.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

As if he’s understanding everything, Cerberus gives both of you a bark. Or maybe he just wants to be remembered. The dog kind of looks less threatening now.

“Can I pet him?”

“So, you let go of your fear now? Be my guest.”

Still, you ask him to go first. Lucifer walks ahead and passes a hand over Cerberus’s neck (not even he can reach Cerberus’s head while the dog is sitting). You hesitate for a minute, before coming closer too. The dog fur is surprisingly soft; he looks well cared for. One of his heads gets closer to you and you freeze in place, but, surprisingly, the dog licks you leaving all of your body wet with dog saliva. You can hear Lucifer suppressing a laugh in the background. He’s in such a good mood, it’s hard to be angry.

“What a good dog,” you say through gritted teeth, feeling so gross. You swing your arm around, trying to get rid of the saliva, then pass your arm in the dog fur anyway. Better than on your half-wet clothes. Cerberus tilts a head and looks back at you. “What?” It takes you a minute to recognize this behavior. “Who’s a good dog?” His ears point upwards. “You are!”

The dog opens his mouths and puffs around, wagging his short tail excitedly. Oh, look, seems like he is quite like a dog after all! You play with him and scratch his nose and his head when he lowers it a bit.

“Do you want to play, Cerberus?”

“WOOF!” he barks loudly in front of you. Though your ears are buzzing, the dog is adorable.

“Does he have toys, Lucifer?”

You finally look back at the demon. He has his arms crossed over his chest and is looking at you with slightly widened eyes and a serious expression. It takes him a moment to answer.

“He has some, but I don’t think you can play with him.”

“Eh? Why not?”

“Cerberus, get one of your toys,” Lucifer commands him, and the dog is running away to the back of the tomb fast. So fast that you can feel a small tremor under your feet.

Cerberus is back quicker than you expected, and he lets a massive piece of bone fall heavily in front of you. Then he drops his front paws and waits excitedly for you to…do something with it. The bone is bigger than your whole body.

“See?” Lucifer chuckles. “You wouldn’t be able to lift it.”

“Can you?”

Lucifer looks  _ so _ offended at your innocent question. He walks to it and uses magic to levitate the bone and throw it for Cerberus to fetch. You didn’t even mean it like that, why does he have to be this ridiculously prideful all the time? At least he’s proving he likes his dog, since he gets a bit distracted, throwing the bone around. Every time the dog jumps to catch it and falls heavily on the stone floor, the impact makes the ground vibrate. No wonder the demon brothers are so scared of that hellhound. After a few minutes of enjoying seeing Lucifer play fetch with Cerberus, the demon seems to remember you’re watching and tells Cerberus to take his toy back to his place. The dog whines, but follows the orders anyway.

“You look happy,” Lucifer constates when he approaches.

“It’s nice to see a new side of you,” you comment, smiling. “Though you have a few paintings of Cerberus you never talk much about him so I was worried you were more cold to your doggo.”

“Doggo? Is that what all humans call their pet dogs?”

“Uh, yes, it is an…affectionate way of calling your dog.”

“I see.” He cleans some fur off his clothes and stares back at his dog when it barks. Now Cerberus is sitting in front of his owner, waiting for new orders. “Since Cerberus has already taken a liking to you, we can go back.”

“Already? Let me play with the doggo more!”

“No.”

“Why not?!”

“Cerberus is a guard dog; I can’t let you make him too soft.”

“It’s a  _ dog _ .”

“Yes, and it’s  _ my _ dog, so  _ I _ get to decide when you stop playing with him.”

Urg. Such a fun killer. Still, you run to the three headed dog and give him a hug, burying yourself in the dog’s fur before Lucifer has to drag you out of the tomb. You scream many goodbyes to Cerberus until you’re out of the creepy place. The dog barks excitedly until you’re both out of his field of vision.

The next week, things went more or less normally. No pranks, no fights, no demons bothering you. Well, you do tend to rush through the corridors of RAD, no time to listen to the devils. Nope. The relationship with Lucifer has been pretty…normal too. He’s as busy as always. Aside from the time you spent together with Cerberus on Saturday, you helped him work a few times this past week. Every time you tried to force him to go to sleep at a reasonable time but you only succeeded once. The punishment felt more like an excuse to spend time with him than a real punishment, except for one particular day… Putting that aside, the rest has been the same as always. It both makes you happy, since your relationship with the avatar of pride didn’t change drastically, and makes you feel anxious over literally anything different that could happen at any given second. But sadly, life must go on, which means doing the RAD homework that you have been slacking off on in order to spend more time in Lucifer’s study. (‘ _ Have you finished your homework already, Tsuki?’ ‘Oh yeah, totally!’ _ Lies.)

All of that brings you to the house library. Satan and Belphie are here too. Belphie had come a little after you and asked Satan to help him with a subject. The hours drag, and you grunt while melted into a comfortable chair, surrounded by books and notebooks. Should be halfway done by now. Curse that school obsession with homework, it never ends.

“Do you need something?” Satan’s cheerful voice echoes through the library.

“A break,” you admit after a dramatic pause. “Could use some coffee.”

You organize the books and notebooks while Satan goes to grab coffee in the kitchen. You look in Belphie’s direction, unsure, but he’s fast asleep sitting in his chair. You sigh, more relaxed. Satan had commented he was lending some self-help books to Belphie, so he can get over Lilith’s death easier, and that he’s making progress on that matter. Satan had sent some to you too, after the whole dying thing, but you only finished reading two of them. There’s not enough time to check them all, you said to yourself. You had already read your own fair share of self-help books during anxiety treatment. They have some interesting tricks on how to deal with anxiety. Most of Satan's recommendations were about PTSD. He, more than likely, can recognize the (very) traumatic event you just passed. Still, even if you had read all the material, you don’t feel like  _ only  _ reading about it makes a huge difference. Sometimes you’ll only remember what you read until a bigger anxiety crisis and you have these almost every week, so. You miss therapy. 

Satan doesn’t take too long. He comes with a tray full of cookies, coffee and tea and wakes Belphie, then he calls you both to sit at the small table in the corner where the fireplace is. You throw all your stuff back into a backpack and go join them. You can always finish the rest tomorrow.

“Don’t you need help with anything?” Satan asks, pouring Belphie some tea. He had just told you Belphie doesn't like coffee and prefers to drink tea or milk.

You finish your coffee before answering. It’s black and strong the way you like it. Satan always found it weird that both you and Lucifer like the strongest black coffee the most.  _ ‘It’s the stress, Satan.’ _ People say caffeine is bad for anxiety but you always find drinking coffee comforting.

“It’s not hard, just a drag,” you say. “I plan to finish tomorrow, but if it becomes too slow, I’m accepting help.”

Satan nods, and the silence is comfortable for once.

“Did you know? Belphie is the one with the best grades after me,” Satan says after finishing his coffee. “Belphie is really smart but he always leaves his homework to the last possible second, just like you, you know,” he laughs.

“That’s impressive,” you say in monotone. “And I only leave the easy homework to be done last since it takes less time,” you correct him, though, he does know you can be a master procrastinator when you want to be.

“I’m not really that smart.” Belphie empties his cup and looks away. Was it you or does he look flustered? “I only get what the teachers say easily and have a good memory.”

“I wish that were me,” you lament, sighing dramatically. You feel like being a bit of a drama queen today. Then, something catches your attention. “Wait, does that mean Lucifer has  _ worse  _ grades than you?!”

Satan explodes in laughs.

“I wish!” the avatar of wrath manages to say between laughs and hiccups.

“Satan and Lucifer have both flawless grades,” Belphie tells you, finding Satan’s laugh attack amusing. “Then comes me, and I think Asmo? The rest are either average or almost failing.”

“‘The rest’ is a really nice way of saying ‘Mammon and Levi.’” Belphie agrees with you.

“Those two would never go to RAD if Lucifer didn’t force them to,” Satan explains, cleaning the tears in his eyes with the back of his hand. “They would do…whatever.” He gives up on finding a better word after a few seconds. “Beel just got happy to have joined a team and doesn’t slack off  _ as much _ as the other two. I used to try to get better grades than Lucifer just because, but I realize it’s an impossible feat,” he sighs, but then goes back to his cheerful tone. “Anyway, I always loved learning so it’s not hard for me to maintain my good grades.”

“You seem to have changed Satan,” the attic gremlin comments, “I feel like you’re not bothered by Lucifer anymore.”

“Oh, we got better,” Satan says with simplicity, “all thanks to this lil human.” He wraps an arm around you, bringing you close, and you match his smile. “Tsuki helped us make amends. Ah! But don’t be mistaken, I still enjoy irritating Lucifer. His bothered expressions make me smile.” He laughs again, more evilly this time.

Satan lets go of you. You honestly sometimes forget Satan is the avatar of wrath; he’s so chill, he loves books and animals, smiles a lot, and he’s certainly the most decent brother. You are happy just from seeing him in this good mood. It feels impossible not to smile around him.

“Hey, I got an idea, we should form an Anti-Lucifer gang. Wait, even better, ‘Formerly Anti-Lucifer League,’ yeah, that sounds about right,” Belphie says with an evil grin.

“Hmm?” You and Satan look at him with a bit of confusion.

“It’s a group formed by me, you and Tsuki, all people who used to hold grudges against Lucifer. And our goal is to play pranks on him,” he laughs.

“Uh…” You don’t like the sound of it.

“Haha, I love it!” Satan announces with a bright smile. “What should be our first mission?”

“Uh, I kind of have a nice relationship with Lucifer now?” you try, now feeling your cheeks burning with the knowledge you are  _ dating _ Lucifer. There’s no reason to prank your boyfriend. On the contrary, what you want the most now is to keep on his good side.

“That’s why we are the  _ Formerly _ Anti-Lucifer League,” says Belphie, proudly. “You too had your troubles with him, right Tsuki?”

“Oh, you bet!” Satan replies for you before you can even open your mouth. “Right after Tsuki moved here, they would fight with Lucifer  _ all _ the time! Haha. They even managed to stress him out more than me. Me!”

They both laugh, having a good time and getting along well. Bonding over their mutual grudges against Lucifer. That’s kind of a good way to get friends, you think, mutual hate. You and Memphis sure do love to bad talk the RAD bullies.

“Oh, I know!” Belphie suddenly jumps out his seat. “We can put Super-Hot Spicy Sauce in Lucifer’s Prized Vintage Demonus.”

“That would definitely get a reaction out of him. The moment he takes a sip and realizes his vintage Demonus is ruined, spiked with hot sauce... Hehehehehehehe…” Satan laughs diabolically.

“Good to know you’re still yourself, Satan,” Belphie comments, satisfied.

You have a bad feeling about it. You are finally in a mostly amicable relationship with Lucifer (with the rights to kiss and cuddle) and you won't allow a little prank to destroy everything you worked so hard to archive. Need to get  _ out  _ of this ride, fast.

“And how do you expect to get access to the Demonus in the first place?” you ask, praying they both would be too stupid to get their hands on it. You are willing to play dumb too. Maybe this whole league thing is only bark and not bite.

Both demons are taken aback for a second. Until Satan smiles.

“Getting access to it may be impossible since it’s behind a powerful magic barrier, but I know for sure Lucifer likes to take a sip once in a while when he’s feeling stressed.”

“So. We just need to bother him for a whole day so he can get the Demonus for us, right?” Belphie gets the plan’s main idea quite fast.

“Precisely! And we have Tsuki for it.”

“ _ What? _ ”

“You’ll distract Lucifer so we can taint the Demonus,” Satan explains.

You are at a total loss for a second. ‘ _ Noooo, someone help me!!!’ _

“I… How… I…” Not a single smart reply is coming to your head, and your anxiety is now fixated on all the dozens of ways this can go wrong.

“It will be easy,” Satan assures you, “I’m sure Lucifer hides it in the music room. You just need to go there when he takes it out and distract him for a couple minutes. Lucifer likes you; he’ll listen to whatever thing you have to say.”

“He likes me?” Your dumb brain repeated the only interesting part of the sentence. Staying with these demons may be damaging your brain cells because now you know for sure Lucifer likes you. 

“Eh? Of course he does!” Satan says with conviction. “Don’t worry, he’ll never find out.”

You hesitate for a minute, suspiciously eyeing both Belphie and Satan. They look way too excited about it. And you feel way too distraught for this. ‘ _ Damn me, just tell them no! _ ' you think, worried, but you can’t think of any reason to refuse that isn’t  _ 'sorry, I can’t, we are super in love and I want Lucifer to fuck me someday so I can’t let him hate me yet.’ _

“Come on, Tsuki, it will be fun,” Belphie insists.

“If something goes wrong, I have nothing to do with it,” you say in a resolute tone with arms crossed. As long as Lucifer doesn't find out you have helped them with this madness, you’ll be fine. Right?

“Deal,” both demons agree.

The next day, life keeps going on as normal. You are finishing some easy tasks in your room while listening to an anime and game music playlist Levi made specially for you. The homework is boring, but it’s all done now. You’ve been spending the day now and again chatting with Mephisto, and he has been showing you his new crochets he’s currently working on. Mephisto wanted your input on the new animals and bags he’s making to sell. Looks like your incentive has been helping him feel more at ease with his enterprise. You hold onto the wish of asking him to crochet frog and shark plushies for you; eventually, you’ll run out of space for so many plushies. You may or may not have cried to him about your participation in the dumb prank.

**Memphis**

_ Just call out sick or whatever. _

_ Do they not fear Lucifer? _

**Tsukishima**

_ Their will to annoy Lucifer is greater than their fear of him. _

_ Idk dude _

**Memphis**

_ Play dumb then  _ :shrug emoji:

_ If someone can deceive those demons, it u _

**Tsukishima**

_ Thanks. I know. Just needed to hear it. _

:wink sticker:

Mephisto sent a bunch of emojis before leaving the chat to do his work. You resume your chores. The Little Ds have come to help you organize your room. You take all of the several crochet dolls off the coffin-shaped cabinet to change their order. Also to clean the wardrobe. 

The incessant buzzing of your phone gets your attention on the end of the night. They are all messages from both Belphie and Satan in the “LUCIFER, YOU S*CK!” group. The main difference between you and Satan and Belphie is that, while Satan or Belphie would proudly use a shirt that says “F*CK YOU, LUCIFER,” you would use one that says “F*CK ME, LUCIFER.” Already rolling your eyes, you check the messages. 

Oh hell.

_ Oh no. _

They managed to make Lucifer get the damned Demonus. They remind you of the plan: you distract Lucifer while they use magic to add the super-hot spicy sauce to the Demonus. They are supposed to keep hiding at some magically hidden place around the room to watch Lucifer’s reaction. Your phone buzzes again; it’s Satan urging you to go to the music room, since apparently Lucifer has been spotted going there just now. You groan, run your hand through your hair to put it more or less in place and grab a hoodie to put over your new custom shirt—black with neon green words that spell “Hey there demons, it’s me, ya boi”—and march to the music room. You wonder what the demons will think of such a shirt.

When you see Satan and Belphie hiding in the shadows of the hallway you decide that no, you're not doing it, it is a dumb, Mammon level prank where everything can go wrong and you are not doing it anymore. You are too smart for this shit.

Unfortunately, Satan catches you and urges you to the room and, yep, it seems that you are doing it after all. You’re basically pushed into the room. You trip on the carpet and fall on all fours. The moment you trip is when Lucifer turns around, startled.

Your face burns with embarrassment. You are going to kill Satan; how dare he make you fall like a ragdoll right in front of Lucifer? Suddenly you remember bitterly how clumsy you used to be when younger. _‘Always trying to embarrass us, aren't you?’, ‘No mother, I was just always so anxious over nothing and everything all the time that it would get in the way of working properly._ _Thanks for never noticing your kid had issues!’_ The bitter memories almost made you forget where you are.

“Are you alright?” You hear Lucifer just above you, snapping you out of the self-loathing.

You move all of a sudden. “ _ I’m fine, _ ” you mutter, probably as red as a tomato. Lucifer offers you his hand. You reluctantly take it and he helps you get back on your feet.

“What was that about?” he says with those half-closed eyes that show some concern. “Why did you get in here in such a hurry?”

You knew why, but your mind blanked. He is looking straight at you and you’re just remembering your new funny shirt. Would he even comment on it?  _ ‘Ahh, get a grip, Tsuki!’ _ Think of an excuse, any. Something he will undoubtedly pay attention to…!

“Can you help me buy a present for Diavolo?” These words leave your mouth before your brain can even finish processing this idea and they surprise even you.

Lucifer’s eyes widen in shock.

“You do realize Diavolo’s birthday is this Sunday, right? The day after tomorrow,” he feels the need to clarify. “Besides, aren’t you still mad at him?”

He looks so confused. You feel confused too, not having thought it out as well as you wish.

“I know!” you cry out. It is easy to act like you're desperate when you're desperate. “I have been thinking about it and…” you trail off, gesticulating to no one in particular while scanning the place. You finally find the stupid bottle of Demonus. It is unprotected, open over a small table at the middle of the room, one empty chalice right beside it. Lucifer is, conveniently, with his back to it while facing you. Your hands move more dramatically while you struggle to find words. “There’s a very logical explanation for it! I swear! Let me organize my thoughts.” You take a deep breath, then face Lucifer. He frowns and stares at you like you’re hopeless. “I decided it would be for the best to have a ‘fake peace’ with him, just like how I treat Solomon, you know? I don’t trust him anymore but since he’s the Prince of Devildom and all that shit, and even if I wanted it  _ dearly _ , I don’t think I can convince you and all your brothers to rebel against him, so I give up on that.”

While it would be  _ fantastic  _ to just free Lucifer and the others from Diavolo, it seems too big of a feat. Also, you know you are the only one who doesn't really like him, so it’s double the trouble. Not worth it. Why does Lucifer like him anyway? Diavolo basically forced him into eternal servitude, he should be the only one resentful over all that. Maybe the years helped them form a real friendship, who knows.

“And I don’t want to create any more problems here. I just want this year to finish soon and without any more horrible near-death situations involving me.” You sigh. Lucifer still has a worried expression. “I thought of apologizing for my rudeness and giving him a present as a peace offering. You’re close to him, right Lucifer? Can’t you just tell me what he likes? I’ll go out tomorrow morning and buy him something,” you finish, trying to not lose track of where you’re going with this.

Lucifer sighs. He scratches his head, looking away. He seems to be contemplating your words carefully.

“Are you sure about this?” he asks at last. His body language tells you he’s not too confident about it.

“Well, there’s a saying in the human world that goes like this: ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer.’”

He is eyeing you with nothing but concern.

“He would probably like just about anything you buy him, you know.” You finally tear your eyes from the demon to take a look at the Demonus again. Can Satan and Belphie be any slower? “Well, I…I guess if you’re fine with it, I should help you.” He stops as he seems to have gotten an idea, smiling briefly before returning to his normal expression. “You’re not planning to go out alone, are you? Let’s go out together tomorrow, I have something to take care of in the council, but I’ll just change my schedule and get it done in the morning so we can leave in the afternoon, I’ll help you find a good present for him.”

Wait, wait. Did. Did he just say he wants to go out with you? Only the two of you? Like a date? Did he just say he will  _ change _ his schedule because of you? _ ‘Hot damn, he really does love me.’ _

You blink, and he’s still here, looking at you expectantly. A smile cracks on your face as you process the new information.

“Thanks Lucifer! You’re the best!” you exclaim. Finally, something good happens to you! Fuck this ridiculous prank, you got a date with Lucifer! It is a date, right? “Uh, you mean like a date?” Your voice drops a lot, barely above a whisper, since you want only Lucifer to hear. He smiles and nods. YES! Your first official date with Lucifer!

Lucifer keeps on smiling. But before you can excuse yourself and leave, he says:

“Since you’re here, want to take a sip of my special Demonus?”

Oh.

Shit. It was too good to be true.

You hesitate. Does he know? Is he  _ always _ one step ahead of everyone? If you say no, he will know for sure his brothers did something, and if you say yes…

“Isn’t that the good stuff? Are you sure?” You try the smart answer, panicking on the inside again. Lucifer looks completely calm, in contrast.

“Yes, but it’s almost empty anyway. Besides, it’s a bit lonely, drinking by myself. It’s a strong drink but since Demonus doesn't make you drunk, you can drink a little.” You study him. Lucifer still looks pretty normal, no funny undertones or smirk. He pours the Demonus into the chalice and offers it to you. Maybe…he didn’t actually notice? Did the stupid demons even manage to taint the drink? You aren’t confident in anything anymore.

You force a smile and take the chalice.

“Sure!”

You raise the drink to your mouth slowly, afraid it might bite you or something. Smelling it before drinking results only in the scent of alcohol, so maybe the idiots didn't manage to taint it anyway. You take a sip. As soon the liquid touches your tongue your whole mouth catches fire. You freeze and stop drinking, then hurry to put the chalice down on top of the small table, almost letting it fall off, and take two hands to your mouth. Should you spit? Is it considered rude to spit in the Devildom?  _ Holy Hell _ , you don’t want to swallow it either but you also  _ can’t _ stay with the liquid in your mouth since everything is burning, even your face is starting to feel hotter. You are  _ SO  _ going to kill Satan and Belphie.

“What’s wrong?” Lucifer sounds worried. “Not to your taste?”

His brows furrow and he examines the chalice. As he is about to drink, on reflex you swallow the Demonus, which you regret immediately—now your whole throat is also burning.

“Wait, NO!” you try to scream but start coughing violently in the middle of the ‘no’ and it’s already too late.

Lucifer takes a sip and you can see the utter regret in his face. He stops and, in a few seconds, you can see the wild range of expressions he can make: surprise, disgust, anger, fury. He goes full demon form and stomps his right foot on the floor. You can feel a shockwave of magic pass through you. In a reflex you grab at the small table to sustain yourself. You hear something fall, and as you turn to the side, you see Satan and Belphie on the ground, hands covering their mouths, preventing them from laughing out loud.

“ **SATAN! BELPHEGOR** !” Lucifer screams as loud as thunder, his face gone completely red. You shrink a little in fear, trying to stand behind the table, as if it could protect you. “ **HOW DARE YOU. I WILL CUT OFF YOUR MEMBERS, BOIL YOUR FLESH AND HANG WHATEVER IS LEFT FROM YOUR DECREASED CORPSES IN MY FRONT YARD FOR EVERYONE TO SEE THE UTTER FAILURE YOU TWO ARE!”**

You can swear the building is trembling, or maybe it is only the side effects of having that cursed drink inside your body. Your stomach is violently trying to fight the liquid. Both Satan and Belphegor lose the smiles on their faces as they take in the sight of their older brother furiously shaking his wings and gritting his teeth. His eyes glow in a bloody red and he has a dark and ominous aura around him. They don’t spare a second; both stand and run for the window. You blink, clean the tears in your eyes, and  _ wow _ , they actually jumped out the window. For a second you thought you were starting to hallucinate. You would laugh if you weren’t dying. Pretty sure you can’t breathe.

As Lucifer is about to march to the room’s (now broken) window, he hears you start another coughing fit. You want to remind him you’re here. ‘ _ Hey I kind of can’t breathe, can you help me first? _ ’ Your throat feels like it is reduced to burning embers and even your nose is flaming inside while your head feels like it’s going to explode. Your stomach is hurting too, but vomiting would only make the burning feeling worse, if that’s even possible. Lucifer turns around, grabs the chalice and moves it in a circular manner for a few seconds, the liquid changes color to something crystalline and he shoves it in your face. You take it and drink like you’re the thirstiest human in all the three realms and because that’s what Lucifer is telling you to do by his (angry) body language. Can’t possibly be any worse than the tainted Demonus. 

As you drink, the burning sensation starts vanishing and your head starts feeling better. You stop drinking slowly and take a good look at the liquid. What did he even do to it? But as you take it away from your lips, Lucifer takes it off your hands and drinks all the rest of it. His whole face is red and you are sure so is yours. 

“Wait.” Lucifer seems to realize something when he puts the empty glass down. “ _ Tsukiiiii _ , are you somehow related to this incident?”

‘ _ Oh Hell, no.’ _ This  _ isn’t _ going to be a repeat of the tomb, this isn’t allowed, no more spitting all the truth to him if he doesn’t look like he knows. The demons promised to leave you out of it and this time, you have  _ no _ involvement in this prank.

“ **DO YOU THINK I WOULD DRINK FIRE?!** ”

Lucifer’s expression becomes surprised for a moment. Your extreme reactions always seem to shake him off his calm semblance for a second or two, as if he has never seen a human angry before. His wings fold behind him, face still terribly red.

“You are right…” he murmurs.

“I want to get to Satan and Belphegor and  _ MAKE THEM SUFFER. _ ” You are constantly reminding yourself of yesterday's words  _ ‘I have nothing to do with it, _ ’ and now you’re going to bury yourself so deep into this lie, you’re going to take it to your grave. “Lucifer, my whole mouth and throat and even my  _ nose  _ were on  _ fire _ and I couldn't  _ breathe, _ ” you complain.

“I drank that too, you know,” Lucifer reminds you. His cheeks are only now starting to lose some of their color. He sighs and reverts back to his human form. “I must hunt Satan and Belphie down and punish them. This Demonus was over 500 years old, from a special selection of an old friend of mine, do you understand how important it was?” You shake your head, you don’t, really. “Now it’s ruined and I can never get my hands on another one.”

“Do you need help hunting them?” Crossing your arms, you look around the room. On top of everything, they managed to break the music room window too. You wonder where they could be by now. “I can trick them into meeting me to apologize while you hide and get them by surprise so we can get our revenge.”

A smirk starts to form on Lucifer’s face.

“Then I’ll gladly accept your help.” He eyes the Demonus for a moment. “Actually, I have an even better idea, what do you think of us making them drink the Demonus too? All of it.”

“Wow, you’re so evil, I love it. We can rub some on their eyes too, they deserve it.”

His smirk gets bigger.

“You would make a fine demon, Tsuki,” he says. Is Lucifer...turned on by the torture talk? Man, he really is a sadist.

Not the way you wanted your night to go, but you need to admit, at least this little prank won you a date.

It took more time than what you expected to hunt Satan and Belphie down. They were smart and hid in the attic. After a long series of texts, you manage to convince them to get down. No way you are ever going back to the cursed attic again. Both demons were  _ so _ shocked when they saw Lucifer waiting for them in the kitchen. Lucifer tied them to a chair and forced them to drink the tainted drink. It was a  _ bit _ more cruel than what you expected, so you ‘accidentally’ let the bottle fall to the ground with whatever was left of the liquid. Lucifer looks at you with such rage for a few seconds that it makes you shrink in fear once again, but he lets it slide since Satan and Belphie are still crying about their punishment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's one more chapter today~


	14. ME!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic will have a more explicit chapter in the future but I'm changing the rating to E now because of this one. idk where to draw the line between mature and explicit tbh I can't tell what this is, boderline explicit I guess??
> 
> Title: ME! by Taylor Swift (feat. Brendon Urie)  
> “I promise that you'll never find another like me.”
> 
> This extra happens after the Cerberus scene and before the library one ;)

**BONUS Chapter 11.5 – ME!**

Helping Lucifer work is very simple. Sitting beside the avatar of pride in his study, you hand him things like papers, books, pens, etc.. You also work as a private maid: making coffee, tea, bringing snacks, forcing him to sleep. On the very first day, you two stay awake till midnight and  _ God _ , how does he  _ not _ have chronic back pains? You are tired and try to push him off that ridiculous fancy chair (maybe the  _ chair _ is the secret to no back pain?!), but to no avail. He reassures you he’s going to sleep soon and shoos you away. Whatever.

Next morning, he has bags under his eyes and looks pretty miserable. Ignoring your own homework, you go earlier to his study and try to optimize time and work as much as you can, though the real work is only done by Lucifer. You even dinner together with him  _ (‘I want to see you eat your dinner’ _ ) in the study. When it hits 11pm you are lying on the carpet, bored and tired. He really does punish himself like this hmm? Because there’s no way that this is enjoyable. Even less doing it for a millennia. Sounds crazy. Sitting next to him again, you start being a bother. You tap him, tell him to go sleep, pull papers and markers away on purpose. It’s a patience game where both players are progressively more and more annoyed at each other. You are about to storm out when you lay with your face on the cold mahogany desk and ask him to sleep one last time. Lucifer bangs his pen into the table, making the wood thing shake with the force of his fist. You back away in a reflex, heart beating like crazy from the scare he gave you. The blue pen is now broken in three different pieces.

“You won, we are going to sleep,” he says through gritted teeth.

He stands up abruptly and storms away before you can even get over your frightened state to follow him. Damn, even Lucifer is starting to listen to you (with some insistence). You really are winning over those demons.

Luckily, he doesn’t stay as mad when you two lay in his bed to sleep. In fact, he even falls asleep before you. Next day you don’t go help him.

Thursday you are back sitting beside the demon. He didn’t call you yesterday; maybe he felt like his punishment backfired. So, afraid of royally pissing him off today, you keep quiet through most of the time, only speaking when he speaks to you. In a moment of boredom, you start reading a piece of paper atop a pile; Lucifer has said he needs to revise this one later. You can almost tell what it is about. You know what the words mean now, separately, but they seem to have some formal speech here that is unfamiliar to you. It also doesn’t help that after a while the words seem to be jumping all over the paper. Apparently demonic language takes a long time for a dedicated human to learn (so that’s why cultists and powerful witches are all old!), since humans aren’t  _ supposed _ to read demonic language. Some words and sentences printed on colorful food packaging still give you a headache when you try to read them. And you thought all that migraine from the first few weeks of RAD was thanks to your stress (it was probably  _ both _ the stress and the new language). When you feel like the words are starting to dance in front of you, you push the report away and stare at another point in the study: there’s a dead animal head there.

Lucifer sighs and rests his pen over the desk. The sound snaps you back to him. The avatar of pride is massaging his wrists now, looking away from his desk for once.

“I think I should take a break.”

_ ‘Good. I need a break too.’ _

“Do you want some tea? Coffee, maybe?” you offer.

Lucifer hums pensively. He looks around the room too, with a more relaxed posture. You decide not to force anything and just let him pick whatever. If he wants nothing, you will just excuse yourself and go to the kitchen to have a snack. And secretly bring him coffee.

“No need, I’ll pass on food for now.” He makes a pause. “Actually, Tsuki, come here.”

You turn to look at him with a puzzled expression. What does he  _ mean? _ You are right next to him! But Lucifer has a small smirk on his face and is telling you to come closer by moving his hand. Despite your best judgment, you stand up and close the (very small) distance between both chairs.

“What?” You stop almost in front of him, crossing your arms.

Instead of a verbal answer, the demon's smirk gets wider. Before you can react, he pulls you closer until you’re sitting over his legs. Lucifer hugs you from behind, his chest pressing against your back, and brings his head to rest over your right shoulder.

“W-What?!” you question again, face heated.

“I only need you here for a while.”  _ That doesn’t answer anything! _

You remain still, however. Lucifer breathes over your shirt, taking in your scent. The only thing you can hear is the loud beating of your heart. Even Lucifer’s strong arms wrapped around your chest are hard to tell apart from the flow of your blood inside your veins and the sweat that starts rising on your skin. He stays still for a while and you use this time to calm down. If he wanted to cuddle, he should have just told you! Instead of acting so out of the blue. These demons can be so unpredictable.

After a sigh, Lucifer moves again. He keeps a hand around your waist, keeping you in place, and moves towards his pen and papers again. Is he seriously going to work again? Like this? You stay still for a while, watching the demon. And yes, he just goes back to work, like nothing out of the ordinary is happening.

“Uh… Is this fine?” you try. His hands work fast over the paper. Lucifer has such refined handwriting. He signs the document and pulls it away onto a pile, then gets another one from another pile.

“Yes, this is fine,” he answers. There’s a smile on his face. “Make yourself comfortable.”

Isn’t  _ he  _ the one who should be uncomfortable? All your weight is over his leg. But if he says it’s fine…

Your eyes roam around the study again, but at this point you already know everything that exists here. Fireplace, stairs, Cerberus painting, center table, fancy armchairs, fancy shelf, many potions, painting, another painting, shelf full of arcane books, Diavolo and Barbatos dolls. The Barbatos doll is very cute and his smile isn’t as creepy as the smile of the real demon.

It starts getting boring quickly. Your D.D.D. is left on the other extremity of the table and you can’t take it back. Your position starts getting a little uncomfortable, so you move a bit, sitting completely over the chair, between Lucifer’s legs, instead of over Lucifer’s left leg. If the demon notices, he doesn't mind. His only change is a small sigh, but he could be sighing over the report he’s currently reading too. Why isn't there a clock here? So Lucifer would feel less annoyed if he doesn’t know whether his work ended at midnight or four in the morning? You really can’t tell how long it’s been. The anxiety normally makes time pass slower.

Lucifer is still working peacefully. Many daydreams later, you decide you should just try to sleep; you are feeling calmer and the avatar of pride doesn’t seem to mind your presence so close to him after all. So, you learn backwards into Lucifer’s body. Your ass hits something that it should not hit.

“A-Are you  _ hard _ ?” The words fly out of your mouth before your brain even finishes processing if this is right or not. Unfortunately, Lucifer goes stiff as you say it, confirming your claims.

“My, my, what should we do about it?” He smirks when he looks at you again.

_ ‘There’s no ‘we’! I want to get out of this ride! _ ’ You try to move out of the chair, but Lucifer tightens his hold around your waist and keeps you in place. Because he pulls you closer, you hit his erection again. ‘ _ Oh Lord, this feels so weeeeeeird _ .’ The demon groans, but you don’t think it was from displeasure, on the contrary…

“Running away is not allowed,” he breathes into your ear, making you shiver. “Stay still while I rub it on you.”

Before you can complain or question him any further, Lucifer pulls you even closer and starts moving his pelvis against your ass. You let out a surprised yell, the new sensation leaving you distracted.  _ Well, this is happening! _ The demon doesn’t leave you alone to your own thoughts either, but attacks your neck with heated kisses. Your mind goes blank, focusing on how the kisses feel on your neck and nape and his hard cock on your back. Suddenly, it all feels like too much, so you grab at the arm of the chair with one hand and the other finds Lucifer’s right leg. You grab his leg too. Apparently, the demon likes your mortal grip on his leg, because he brings the hand that was holding your waist to your thigh and fondles it. An involuntary moan leaves you, and now you feel even more embarrassed, if it were even possible...

But all of this pleases Lucifer a lot. His other hand grabs your chin and moves your head to face him. You are met with his dark crimson eyes, and  _ woah _ , they are hypnotic, catching your attention the second you lay your own eyes on him, making you unable to look away. Lucifer dives in to kiss you on the lips and you let go of his leg, twist your body in the seat, and grab his shirt instead, melting into the kiss.

Relaxing in the moment, your other hand frees the grip on the armchair to touch Lucifer’s hair. His hand is traveling your body too, tracing along your spine, making you shiver once more. You feel him squeeze your thighs again and you moan into the kiss. There is a hot feeling forming in the bottom of your abdomen. You get the sensation of something wet inside your pants. The avatar of pride growls when he pulls apart, stopping his grinding for a moment. He has a smile and is looking at you as if you are the most beautiful and precious creature he has ever set his eyes on. There’s nothing but lust in his eyes. His hand moves up, closer to your groin. You moan again, lewdly this time, while a feeling of utter pleasure runs through your body. 

“Oh? Someone’s excited too,” he says playfully, touching the front part of your pants. You scream this time, both from surprise and pleasure. The damned demon is right, all that got you excited too,  _ how embarrassing _ … Quickly, you hold his arm and take it away from you. “Don’t you want your release too?” he murmurs into your ear. “I’m close.”

That means it’s going to end soon right…? Your brain feels like it’s working at full capacity, trying to decide between waiting for it to end already and granting you a little bit of pleasure too. After what feels like a long time but was only a minute or two, you release your hold on Lucifer’s arm. He’s still waiting for your reply, because he has kept himself still. Unfortunately, you can’t seem to find your own voice, and look at the demon very flustered. You start to groan.

“So, should I touch you or not?” His patience has finally run out, though he has asked it in a calm way. Still feeling like your throat has closed itself, you only nod. “Alright, love.”

‘ _ L-L-L-Love?! _ ’

Lucifer touches you again, making you moan loudly. Bringing a hand to rest at your mouth, you hope to prevent yourself from moaning this loudly any longer. The avatar of pride moves you on his lap and resumes his rubbing against your ass and back, with quicker movements now. Though he is touching you over your clothes, you feel very sensitive. After just a minute or two, both of you are already panting. Suddenly, Lucifer crashes against you and moans, a deep and low moan while he cums. The demon bites your shoulder to quiet himself and you let out a high-pitched scream. Lucifer goes still for a moment, but his hand never stops moving between your legs. You climax too, a while after him. It feels so good your mind goes blank again.

For a moment nothing but soft pants can be heard in the room, while you and Lucifer try to catch your breaths. ‘ _ Urg,’ _ now your pants are wet and slick; you have to walk to your room like this. Would anyone notice? The demon ruffles your hair, lazily. Turning to look at Lucifer playing with your hair, you see he has a relaxed expression you’ve never seen before, devoid of any angry or tired lines on his face. You feel content just by watching him and start smiling without noticing. You touch the place he bit you over your shirt, but you don’t see any blood. Could leave a mark later, you’ll have to check again.

“Your punishment is over, Tsuki.”

Good to know, now you won’t stress over it anymore. Not that you disliked helping him, it was a good excuse to be together, no matter how boring it became from time to time. You honestly wouldn’t mind doing it for a few more days. As long as he doesn’t get another erection all of a sudden... Wait a minute. Slowly you start connecting a few points.

“Wait.” He laughs as soon as he sees your face illuminating with understanding,  _ “That _ was your intention all along?!”

He chuckles for a while longer. Even his eyes are smiling, so at ease for once.

“I won’t deny I wanted to do some filthy things with you but…”

_ “But? _ ”

“You were taking it so seriously all the time I couldn’t bring myself to start anything.”

“Oh.” You were being so serious that Lucifer couldn’t even get turned on. He laughs again seeing your dumbfounded face and moves to kiss your cheeks and forehead. “I thought I was supposed to take it seriously...”

“I’m not complaining, you are a great help,” Lucifer says, then kisses you again, on the lips this time, a quick and chaste kiss. “Don’t you want to go change?”

“I really do,” you sigh, earning a chuckle.

“You may go, I am taking a break to clean myself too.”

Excusing yourself, you get off him. Standing up, you fix your clothes and hair a little to look more presentable. When you feel more or less good to go, you wave at Lucifer, who is now organizing a few papers on his desk. He gives you one last sweet smile before you leave.

“Don’t go to sleep too late!”

He groans and it’s your time to laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote it all on a whim in one go LOL  
> Tell me if you like this disaster because I don't dkjhdshfhjvsv (I was THIS close to not posting but YOLO)


	15. One Of The Drunks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM READY TO LOSE ALL MY READERS!!!   
> TW: daddy kink for like 2 minutes near the end, you can skip it if it makes you uncomfortable, there will be a *** just before it.  
> (I just cound't help mysefl)
> 
> One of Drunks by Panic! At the Disco

**Chapter 12 - One of the Drunks**

You are in a fight against the clock with your homework. Waking up early, you decide to finish everything that is pending so you can enjoy two ‘days off,’ one with Lucifer and one at Diavolo’s party  _ (‘I really am going, ain’t I?’ _ ). The only moments when you stopped were to eat and to shower. Looking at the clock, it is almost 4PM and Lucifer is late; he said he should come back after lunch but he didn’t. After lunch, he sent you a text instead saying you two should leave around 5PM. You find a little more motivation and finish the Devildom Common Law homework. Now you should only be missing math and literature. Your phone buzzes and you stop everything to get it. It’s another text from Lucifer: he’s on his way home and wants to shower before leaving. ‘ _ Yes.’ _

You send a short text to Asmo, telling him to come to your room to help you style your hair and do some light makeup. After all, you want to be feeling good today. An opportunity like this has shown to be rare. Asmo doesn’t take five minutes to knock on your door.

“Come in!” you shout as you grab your academy supplies and organize them back into your backpack and wardrobe. As the door opens, you hear more steps than just Asmo’s. Turning back, you see all of the demon brothers invading your room.

“What the… Why is everyone here?” You look at them confused, then lock eyes with Asmo, giving him a furious expression.

“Sorry, they followed me,” Asmo defends himself. This time he does look sorry. Squinting your eyes, you give Asmo a look, ‘ _ explain now.’ _ But before Asmo can, Mammon opens his mouth, demanding attention.

“We come here to know what you’re planning with this ‘date’ of yours,” Mammon interjects angrily. ‘ _ What?’ _ “You sent a text to Asmo to come fix you for your ‘date.’ DATE! Who are you seeing? Since when? Is it a cute girl, a guy?” He makes a dramatic pause. “Is it  _ Mephisto _ ? You have been  _ awfully _ close to him lately!”

“WHAT THE HELL!” you yell. “What the FUCK are you talking about? I am going out with your BROTHER! With  _ Lucifer. _ ”

Mammon gasps and looks surprised. You honestly can’t tell what is bothering you more now, the fact that they came to possibly stop you from going on a date or Mammon thinking the date is your good friend, Memphis. This unjustified jealousy has to stop, you are tired of it.

“We told you, Mammon, ‘Tsuki is going to buy a present for Diavolo together with Lucifer,’” says Belphie after yawning. “You didn’t need to wake me up to embarrass yourself.”

“But,” Mammon starts, but you don’t let him finish.

“Did all of you come along because I could, possibly, be having an actual date with someone?”

Beel, Levi, Satan and Belphie all look away. Asmo raises his hands in a gesture of peace.

“I’m so sorry, Tsuki! I got the text all wrong too and freaked out a little, but Mammon was close by and saw the text, then he freaked out more than me,” Asmo cries out. “Mammon collected everyone to demand you to reveal who is your secret date.”

Asmo looks like he is regretting it this time. He doesn’t normally admit when he’s in the wrong. You pinch the bridge of your nose, already feeling a headache coming. You start to tremble, trying to contain all the blood boiling inside of your body. You don’t have time for this nonsense.

“I am easily the smartest person in this damn house since all of you enjoy acting so  _ stupid  _ all the time,” you complain, voice trembling with rage. “Why does it even  _ matter  _ if I get a date or not?!”

All the brothers start to talk at the same time. Their voices get mixed together and since you're not paying too much attention, the details get lost and you don’t understand much of it. Not that you want to.

“Then, if you’re that smart, why do you keep getting yourself into problems, hmm?” Mammon says, trying to sound intelligent for once. Oh, he is  _ not _ outsmarting you.

“Because I am forced to participate in y’all’s crazy schemes! Just like yesterday!” you yell, remembering the awful tainted Demonus with hot sauce. Since a few of them get startled and shut their mouths, you take advantage of the pause to continue. “I swear, this was the  _ last _ time I allowed myself to participate in a dumb prank.  _ Grow the fuck up!  _ All of you!” your angry yelling keeps them all in silence. “But today I am not letting any of you ruin my good mood. Thanks to Satan and Belphegor I actually got the best from a shitty situation for once.” A grin cracks onto your face as you say,  _ “I _ have a date with Lucifer today and I will enjoy every second if it while you guys stay stuck here.” You wink and all of the demons grunt, minus Belphie, who looks very uninterested.

“If I didn’t know you, I would say you’re into Lucifer,” Satan jokes. You laugh loudly with disdain.

“Satan, if I didn’t like you so much, I would be offended!” you scorn. “Lucifer is just great company to have since he’s actually polite and well behaved and  _ rich _ . I deserve a break once in a while from all this madness. Not only that, but I can also convince him to buy me expensive stuff and treat me to a fancy dinner thanks to my cunning abilities and  _ unlike some of you,” _ you point to Mammon, Asmo, and Belphie, “I know how to take advantage of the situations I’m in. Maybe you guys could learn a thing or two from  _ me, _ ” you finish your lecture, feeling triumphant.

They are silent for a moment. It’s not common for you to roast them all like this. But the silence only lasts for a moment before Asmo breaks it.

“Wow, this is a really long and elaborate way to say ‘you are all idiots but I am happy to spend some time alone with Lucifer.’”

You blush profoundly before screaming.

“Get OUT of my room! Right now! Everyone except Asmo, MOVE!” All the demons you made pacts with start moving awkwardly and leave the room one by one, Belphie is left looking amusedly at the sight before leaving last and closing the door.

“Good luck on your date. Sorry for the intrusion,” you hear the avatar of sloth say as the door closes.

You sigh loudly, sitting in your bed, suddenly feeling so tired. Everything is silent, only you and Asmo are in the room. He still looks somewhat uncomfortable with the situation. You hear your phone’s notification sound but you can’t find it for a second.

“Oh, it’s here,” Asmo says, pointing at your vanity table. He grabs it for you, but he also decides to take a look at it. “It’s your  _ date _ , he says he just got home and that you should be done in the next thirty minutes…” He makes an awkward pause. “He sent you the kissing sticker. Why did he choose the kissing one?”

You stare at him for a moment. Contemplating on whether or not to tell him about your new relationship. But, since Asmo is the only one who figured out your crush on Lucifer and kept himself quiet about it, he deserves to know. Asmo loves secrets anyway, especially dirty ones.

“He likes sending me stickers…” you start, then stop. Asmo is looking at you with a puzzled expression and he knows something feels a bit off. “Ok, I’ll tell you, but don’t scream, I…”

“Are you and Lucifer dating?” he bursts out.

“Yes.” Asmo takes a hand to his mouth, gasping dramatically. “Don’t tell anyone, Lucifer and I made a bet to see how long it takes Mammon to find out.”

The lust demon remains in a shocked state for about a minute, before he starts giggling uncontrollably. Asmo glues himself to you in the bed, excited.

“Oh my~! Since when? How is he with you now? Is he possessive? Controlling? OH, no way, is he,  _ sweet?”  _ He’s as excited as a schoolgirl that has been told the hottest gossip of the year. “I didn’t notice anything different aside from one day when I felt lustful vibes coming from your room, but I thought you were just masturbating.”

You cough in shock at that last line, face going red. Where do you even start?

“I… We have been together ever since after that day when we drank in the music room.”

“That long?!”

“Yeah, I guess it really hasn't been that different. Lucifer is acting pretty much the same as always, he is actually a lot more patient and understanding than what I expected.”

Asmo is almost falling from his seat, basically vibrating with excitement.

“Wait, wait, wait, don’t tell me you didn’t ‘do the deed’ yet?”

“I must say I’m surprised you didn’t just say ‘sex’ out loud to me, thanks. And no,” you deadpan. Asmo gasps again.

“If I were dating someone like Lucifer, that’s the first thing I would have tried!”

“Yeah, I know, but I am not you.”

Slowly, Asmo seems to grasp what you mean. After a moment, he nods. Feeling like you are forgetting something, you take a look at the time and then curse. You’re losing time.

“I’ll tell you more later, I promise, but now you should help me get ready for my date. Come on, you have less than twenty minutes to make me look  _ gorgeous. _ ”

Asmo laughs.

“Twenty minutes is more than enough time, my dear, especially since you are already gorgeous!” He makes a small pause as he opens the makeup case that he bought along and starts working. Asmo brushes your hair first, taking it off your face so he could work on the makeup first. “So, tell me, what are the plans for the date?”

“Buy a present for Diavolo and go have some fancy dinner.”

“Boring,” he complains in an emotionless way. Your eyes are closed as Asmo works on your makeup, so you don’t know how he’s looking at you. Must be pouting. And thinking about other cool activities to do, but luckily for you, Asmo knows you don’t like what  _ he _ likes and he doesn’t force you into that stuff. Like an actual decent person. So, you are sure he’s having a hard time now trying to suggest something that is not dancing in a club and drinking alcohol. “By the way, Tsuki, about my poor, stupid, brothers, and they way they behaved just now…” Asmo talks again after a couple minutes. “Tsuki, I’m sure they care about your happiness and wellbeing as much as me and were just a bit worried, maybe you should apologize for being so harsh.”

You sigh. Truth be said, you’re starting to feel like you acted a bit over the top just now. For someone as rude and selfish as Asmo, he's showing a lot of consideration for his brothers. You always knew that, deep down, he cares a lot about his family.

“I know. Do you think I was too harsh?”

“More than normal.”

When you open your eyes, you see Asmo with a serious expression.

“I see. I’ll apologize when I come back.”

All of a sudden, Asmo smiles.

“Yes, you should go out with your boyfriend, have a good time and make him buy you lots of things so you’ll be happy and calm enough to make up with Mammon and the others! I’m sure they won’t hold any grudges, they like you.” Now you’re certainly feeling regretful. However, Asmo isn’t judging you, on the contrary, he’s looking at you with affection and understanding. He really is a great friend when he’s not being overly narcissistic. “Smile, my dear, we are done.” Asmo hands you a mirror so you can admire his job. You look so different, older and prettier. The avatar of lust is an artist.

“Thanks, Asmo.” You show him a smile.

“And you still have a few minutes left! Hurry up, put on the nice clothes I bought you last week, I know you haven’t used them yet!” You are standing and collecting the clothes while he speaks. “Oh! Use that one pair of glasses too, the purple ones.”

You groan, but luckily you are without lenses anyway. After changing, you go for the second drawer of the vanity and pick the neon purple case with the glasses Asmo suggested. Once you are ready, you pick up your D.D.D. and wave goodbye to Asmo and thank him again.

“Enjoy your date. Have lots of fun,” says Asmo when he opens the door for you to leave. He means it.

The clothes Asmo gave you are a bit ‘extravagant’ for your taste. The colors are too strong, the ripped jeans a bit too ripped and the shirt has a low cut, exposing a bit of your neck. As expected from the avatar of lust, to pick clothes that show more skin and are tighter on your body. And still, you shamelessly insisted on going to the market walking.  _ ‘It’s such a pretty day! We should go for a walk,’ _ you said to Lucifer, and he didn’t protest, a win. Your good mood has returned, as you smile even at the small, evil looking butterflies that you see flying across the way. You no longer remember the previous angry explosion with the brothers in your room. Might as well bring them desserts from the market as part of your apology.

You two walk around by the market without a set destination. Despite Lucifer’s suggestions, you can’t reach an agreement about the present. The traveling cart that sells the donuts Beel loves so much has new sweets, so you decide to buy some for you and Lucifer and a bunch for the brothers right away. Lucifer helps you carry one of the bags, what a gentleman. Not carrying all the bags like the last time you two went shopping together.

After one hour of wandering you decide to not push your luck any longer when Lucifer asks you what exactly you are looking at in the display window at Hocus Pocus.

“I was just wondering if all those stones have magical capacities.” It’s a white lie; ever since last week you’ve been eyeing the pretty aquamarine-like gemstone in the center of the main showcase. It didn’t even have a price tag, so that thing is surely way over your budget, but hey, looking isn’t stealing. “Some of them look just like normal jewels here, but it’s a magic shop, isn’t it?”

“Every gem natural to the Devildom has some magical capacities, but many demons use them as ornaments too,” explains Lucifer. “Hocus Pocus sells both types of stones, for magical rituals and as jewelry.”

“Ah, I see.” You feign more interest than what you really feel. You take your eyes off the jewel. While it is true that you can convince Lucifer to buy it for you, it’s not like you  _ need _ it. You feel like you would be abusing your new relationship status by asking for the necklace on your literal first date. It would be more comfortable accepting something Lucifer wants to give to you.

Walking a bit further down the streets, you recognize a shop at the end, a fancy men’s-only clothes shop Asmo took you to once. He didn’t buy anything here, but you remember the clothes being nice.

“Do you think we can find something nice for Diavolo in that shop? The one at the end of the street?”

Lucifer takes his eyes away from somewhere else to see what shop you were talking about. Looks like you caught him distracted.

“I know that shop, I bought some clothes there before. Good idea.”

Really? Now you want to see him in those clothes.

“Ok, let’s check it out.” You wonder if Lucifer would notice you are excited to shop with him and not buy Diavolo a present. In fact, you don't really want to give the demon a present.

The shop sells several varieties of formal attire for men. After eyeing the goods for a while, you suggest a tie. Lucifer thought it was a great idea and you both choose a red and black striped tie for him. Looking around, you like a coat and proceed to overthink for the next few minutes on whether or not you want to buy it for Mephisto. You have been waiting to give something to him for a while. Obviously, Lucifer catches you staring a bit too intensely at the coat.

“Do you want it?” the avatar of pride asks curiously.

“Uh? Oh no, I was thinking of giving it to Memphis, actually…”

“Memphis?”

“Oh sorry, I mean Mephistopheles,” you quickly correct yourself and stare at Lucifer anxiously. He seems a bit confused for a second.

“Mammon did complain about you spending too much time with him,” Lucifer comments.

“Bet my own shadow would make him jealous,” you roll your eyes, and Lucifer lets out a small chuckle at your comment. “Memph—Mephisto made a lot of things for me and he’s a good friend, so I was thinking about giving him something for a while now. Can you…?”

“If you want to give this coat to your friend I have no complaints,” he cuts you off to say. You honestly feel a bit dumbstruck here. Part of you was worried he would be jealous too.

“You don’t mind?”

“I am actually happy that you managed to make a friend by yourself in RAD,” Lucifer shows you a smile.

“Me too.”

“He’s quite the chatterbox and tends to like cute stuff, doesn’t he? You two must have a lot in common.”

“Well, yes,” you nod, still feeling a bit shocked. “So, are we buying it too?” Lucifer nods and offers you his hand. Oh well, this day sure is turning out to be better than expected! You grab the coat from the hanger and give it to Lucifer.

As you two are waiting for the cashier, Lucifer takes his D.D.D. and starts sending messages for a while. Must be his work. He’s always working…

After leaving with the presents, Lucifer signs for you to follow him back to Hocus Pocus. Confused, you go back to the shop and enter it alongside Lucifer.

“Satan asked for something at Hocus Pocus a while ago but they were out of stock. He just sent me a message to go get it for him, so I’ll go ahead and buy it, feel free to look around,” he says. “Just don’t touch anything,” he adds, seriously.

“Yes, sir.” You nod and take a look inside the crazy shop. There are a lot of cool magic items here. Solomon and Satan visit this shop a lot for supplies. Every time you enter here you wish you could also use magic; it seems so much fun and you could actually defend yourself from the demons with magic. Though the pacts have been working fine for now. You wonder why Satan hasn't sent  _ you  _ a text about it. Maybe he wanted to bother Lucifer. While waiting for Lucifer, Asmo sends you a text, making you take your eyes off a cool ornate dagger.

**Asmodeus**

_ How’s the date? _

_ :wink sticker: _

**Tsukishima**

_ Fine. _

**Asmodeus**

_ Only ‘fine’??? _

_ Didn’t he drown you with presents already? _

**Tsukishima**

_ No, but he bought me chocolate dumplings and a gift for my friend :) _

**Asmodeus**

_ :shock sticker: _

_ I can’t believe you… _

_ Did you two ONLY go out to buy Diavolo’s a gift? _

_ It’s a date, Tsuki! Act like it is and go have some FUN! >:( _

_ I don’t know what you consider fun, to be honest… _

**Tsukishima**

_ Tbh, this is exactly why we are here, buying the crazy prince a present to make fake peace with him. _

_ I mean, I’m not too sure either. _

_ Never went on a date before. _

**Asmodeus**

_ D: _

_ It’s still not too late!! _

_ Let me see, you don’t like clubs or drinking. _

_ AH _

_ Beg for him to take you to Ristorante Six <3 _

_ At least you two can have some nice dinner and some time alone. _

_ :wink sticker: _

Before you have the chance to tell him you had thought about it, Lucifer appears behind you.

“Having a nice chat?” he breathes behind your left ear.

You let out a yell and turn around to face him.

“No,” you say, feeling your face heat. Did he see any of it? The D.D.D. is shoved back inside your pocket. “It was only Asmo bothering me.”

Lucifer hums and you two leave the shop. You adopt a slow pace. It is night in the Devildom and the street lights are getting lit. You think the Devildom is even prettier at night, when all the colorful street lights are lit. It’s always so colorful, it is easy to forget you’re in literal Hell in places like this. Once you’re both at the market square, the House of Lamentation path is going left, while Ristorante Six is at the right. You frantically try to think of a good enough excuse to eat out that doesn't sound too needy or too selfish. If you need to pick one, the selfish one is a safer bet. You are dating, this is what couples do, right? Eat out together? However, Lucifer didn't give you the chance to ask for it, as he taps you on the shoulder when you two stop at the square.

“It’s getting late, would you like to eat out today?” he asks with an adorable smile on his lips.

“ _ Yes, _ ” you reply a bit too fast. You probably even cut him in the middle of the sentence. But Lucifer only smiles and takes the path to Ristorante Six without another word. Maybe he finds your assertiveness cute, you hope. Or he knew you were struggling to ask him to dinner. Like a goddamn fool.

The moment you enter the fanciest restaurant of this side of the Devildom you feel so lucky this is Lucifer’s favorite restaurant. You could  _ never  _ afford a single meal in this place. The candle light makes such a romantic atmosphere. You can’t help but admire the perfectly put together decorations and the architecture of the place; it really does live up to its reputation. There’s a demon playing some soft melody at the piano. You always find Devildom music to be strange to your ears, but this one almost feels like something you could hear in the human world.

Lucifer guides you to a table at a quiet corner. You barely read the dishes in the menu, having no idea of what most of it is anyway. You just pretend to look when the waiter gives it to you. Lucifer asks for some fine wine and water and tells the waiter to go for now.

“You can ask for anything you want,” says Lucifer, eyeing the menu as well.

“That’s very generous Lucifer, but you know I can’t tell what seventy percent of the menu is about.” You show him a smile. “You can ask for anything you think I’ll like.”

While being forced to live in the Devildom, you can’t be picky with food. You have learned to try everything and stick with whatever you like without asking what it is made of. After being sure it’s not literal poison, of course. Lucifer nods and once the waiter is back with the wine and the water he makes the order, asking for a bunch of fancy sounding dishes. Well, ‘fancy’  _ is  _ the middle name of Ristorante Six. You try out the wine. You aren’t big on alcohol. Since you get drunk too fast and are a terrible drunk person overall, you never drink too much of any liquid that has alcohol in it. Except for that one time in the music room… You intend to drink only the bare minimum of wine today. 

The wine is surprisingly good, though, strong. You stare at the elegant way Lucifer drinks, sighing quietly. Lucifer puts his glass down and you stare into each other's eyes for a minute, until you look away, embarrassed. Life was easier when you thought you were strictly ace. 

“So,” the avatar of pride breaks the silence, “how have you been? Everything alright with you and my brothers?”

Damn, does he actually know  _ everything _ that happens in that house? Now you aren’t sure if he ever believed you weren’t involved in the Demonus fiasco. Is he even mentioning the whole date deal that happened today? Or is this just his attempt at small talk? He used to ask the exact same thing at the beginning, when he didn’t know how to even  _ talk _ to you. Still, trying to not start a panic attack so soon, you decided to play safe, fighting yourself to not let a repeat of the tomb happen again.

“Everything’s fine.” You force a smile, looking back at him. “Do you mean anything specific?”

“Not really.” He smiles but looks down at his glass for a moment, seeming to consider what to say next. “I’ve noticed you are on good terms with Belphie now.”

Ah, is that what he meant before?  _ ‘Thank goddess.’ _

“Yeah, we have been getting closer recently.” You wonder if you should comment about the formerly anti-Lucifer army. Nope. No way. “We studied together with Satan this week.”

“I assume he means no threat to you anymore?”

Honestly, Lucifer is the only threat to you now, and not only in the emotional way. He is probably the biggest threat to your life you ever had after Belphie (and he only wins because he actually killed you, it’s hard to forget that fact). Even though you love Lucifer, being with him is like having a walking bomb besides you.

“No, I don’t think so any longer.” You drink the water this time. “It's just me that can’t get over the ‘killing’ thing yet, but I do want to be friends with him properly. Just like I told you that time, Lucifer, I want to be friends with you and  _ all _ your brothers.” 

‘ _ When was it again _ ?’

“I remember, it was at the retreat.” He has a good memory. It was when you two were dancing, right? Shows you how much you actually paid attention back then, but why would you even care about what you were talking about while dancing with  _ Lucifer? _ The demon grabs his glass of wine and empties it. For a minute, you think this conversation is over. “I showed Belphie Lilith’s room this week.”

“Seriously?” This surprises you. “How did he react?”

“I offered to let him use that room, but he declined. Belphie asked, however, to make the room available for everyone to go to when they feel like it and I have already taken off the magic sealing off Lilith’s old room. And I have told my brothers about it. Belphie also told me he’s getting over Lilith’s death better now that he knows the truth. I’m glad about it. He has even been less rude to me lately.”

You take a moment to process the new info. What a couple bits of wonderful news!

“I’m glad you did it, Lucifer. If you had just told them the truth from the very beginning it would have prevented us both a lot of trouble,” you say, feeling bold and hoping it doesn’t sound too harsh.

“I know,” he laments.

He’s not looking angry so that’s good! Since he still hadn’t gotten angry today, you continue.

“You also know that if you had told them about pledging loyalty to Diavolo they wouldn’t tease you nearly this much about him, right?”

Lucifer sighs and crosses his arms, looking away.

“I do, but to reveal I had pledged loyalty to Diavolo would also mean I should tell them  _ why. _ ”

“Ah, I suppose that makes sense.”

Luckily or not, the waiter comes with the main dishes right after. As usual, the food is delicious, and you eat in a relatively comfortable silence. Once the plates are clean you want to order some dessert. When you comment to Lucifer you don't know which one from three to choose, he simply says to order them all. You politely refuse and choose only two of them, as you can’t eat three desserts alone.

You are enjoying this…thing, that looks and tastes a lot like chocolate mousse, when Lucifer calls you. You look up to him and he takes out a small bag. He has this devilish smile on his face as he offers it to you. You grab it, confused. It’s from Hocus Pocus.

“Had the feeling you really wanted this.”

You don’t even need to look inside to know what Lucifer bought you. But you still open it, it would be rude to not to. There’s a small red box inside the bag. As you open it, you see the necklace with that pretty aquamarine gemstone. It is even more stunning looking up close. It reminds you of a diamond, but the color isn't right. At the very center of the round stone is a faint dark purple glow. ‘ _ Aaah, why does he always get me everything I want? _ ’

“Very sneaky of you,” you say, still eyeing the pretty stone. “I take it the whole ‘Satan order’ was a lie?”

Lucifer nods, and he seems very proud of himself.

“It was. This is a Midnight Stone, a rare jewel here in the Devildom. I noticed how it caught your attention so I decided to buy it.”

He says it like it’s a very normal thing to do. To rich people it must be. Or to  _ people who actually care about you _ .

“Thank you, Lucifer. You didn’t need to buy it… Must have been so expensive…”

“Don’t worry about it, take it as a token of my appreciation.” His large smile looks very sincere right now.

You are left without reaction. You want to smile and show him how much you like it. Every small attention you get from Lucifer makes your heart melt and feel all fuzzy inside. Shaking your head out of it, you offer Lucifer a small smile but now you feel like crying. You don’t know how to handle it when he’s being so gentle like this. You know he loves you now, but every time he gives you something you still feel overwhelmed with emotions. Feeling a tear starting to break free, you quickly rub your eyes.

Lucifer is watching you, lost in thoughts. He may be wondering why humans are so complicated. ‘Why can’t this strange human just be happy with gifts,’ is what he must be thinking now.  _ ‘He’s right too, why can’t I just act happy like a normal person?’ _

“Can I put it on you?” he asks all of a sudden. You look at him with utter confusion for a second.

“Sure?”

He stands up, his manners impeccable as always, and gently takes the necklace from your hands. You remain sitting while Lucifer passes the jewel around your neck and closes it. He looks so fondly at you that you almost break down crying because he looks so, so beautiful. For the thousandth time today, you stop to think about how  _ lucky  _ you are being the one who has the pleasure to date Lucifer.

“It looks beautiful on you.”

__ ‘ _ It looks beautiful on you. On you.’ _

You jump on Lucifer, embracing him. He feels stiff for a second, but he hugs you back after a moment of hesitation. Some insistent tears try to fall out of your eyes.

“Thank you, Lucifer,” you say again, face buried in the vests of his shirt. You really do love him. Lucifer hugs you back for a minute.

Slowly you pull away, after making sure you are not, in fact, crying. That would be even more embarrassing. The demon returns to his seat, since the dessert needs to be finished. As an attempt to ease your feelings, you pour some wine into your glass and drink it in one go. The alcohol burns in your throat.

“Tsuki…this is not Demonus,” Lucifer says, voice low and careful. “You shouldn’t drink it that fast.”

“Don’t worry about it, I can handle a bit of alcohol,” you reply nonchalantly, and pour even more wine. Last time you drank a bit more of Devildom wine it only left you a bit tipsy. This is nothing.

Lucifer stares quietly while you empty the bottle. The wine isn’t bad, only a glass and half won’t make you drunk. But Lucifer orders one more bottle of wine (since you just drank his), and he ends up sharing it with you as well.

**Lucifer POV**

His lover is drunk. Again.

This time was quicker than the last time. They drank about half of a wine bottle, maybe a little more, and from the dazed stare and blush over their cheeks, they were pretty much already under the influence. Too bad, Lucifer was enjoying their little date and dinner so much. Apparently, different alcoholic drinks cause different reactions in humans. It’s quite interesting, but at the same time, very unpredictable. Lucifer is completely sober, however, and it’s not fun to babysit drunk people.

After finishing the dessert and the wine, Lucifer pays for the dinner and gathers the human and the bags so they can leave the restaurant. They are walking tipsy and looking pretty dizzy. Lucifer turns when they reach the street and takes a good look at them. 

“You’re drunk, aren’t you?”

“I am not drunk,” Tsuki denies. “I’m perfectly normal!”

“You’re tipsy,” Lucifer points out, to which they gasp offendedly and shake their head. He raises a hand to stop a taxi he sees down the street. Tsuki is in no condition to walk back to the house.

The vehicle stops right in front of them. Lucifer wastes no time and pushes Tsuki inside the car, sitting beside them right after. He tells the driver to go to the House of Lamentation. In the next second, Tsuki attaches themselves to Lucifer’s arm, just like a sloth to a tree. He looks over at the human, shocked.

“You got a taxi for us? So thoughtful! Lucifer’s the best,” they giggle, pressing their face to his arm. Lucifer only stares at them in silence. This sudden—and shameless—display of affection is new. They are normally too shy to even hold his hand… Thinking about it, Lucifer would have attempted to hold their hand today if the market were more crowded, but unfortunately for him, today was a calm day.

“Hehehe, are you tired? I’m feeling fine! Maybe we should go to your room and keep drinking!”

“No,” he says immediately in his ‘don’t argue with me’ tone. “You drank enough already.”

“So boooooring,” they are pouting now, still glued to his arm. It’s kind of cute. The demon resists the urge to pinch their cheeks. “You are no fun. Do you even know what fun means, Lucifer?”

“In theory.”

They burst out laughing, loudly.

“That was fun! Ok, maybe you do.”

Lucifer sighs. He just wants to get home and put them to bed. Hopefully they won’t create any scene. The drive isn’t long and luckily, the only thing Tsuki does is giggle and hug Lucifer’s arm. They start rambling about how it’s been a long time since they had to take a taxi. Lucifer only half pays attention to the story they are telling, something about being late to a taekwondo competition, while he checks his D.D.D. for any relevant news. Like the house being burned to the ground or Mammon running wild with his credit card. He finds no interesting chats and lets out a sigh, feeling calmer now.

When the taxi stops in front of the house, Lucifer pays the driver quickly before dragging Tsuki out with him. He pulls them along, holding their hand firmly and helping them to walk since they cannot walk straight and are tripping over nothing. As soon as the two get inside, Lucifer leaves Tsuki alone for one second to lock the door.

“Lucifeeeerrr…” he hears some whining. Sighing, he turns around and sees the human leaning heavily against a wall, barely keeping themselves standing. “Carry me to my room.”

“What?” he says, shocked. Tsuki must be feeling really bad to  _ ask _ for Lucifer to carry them, since every time Lucifer had done so before, Tsuki had hated it. “I think you can walk just fine on your own,” Lucifer responds in his stern voice on reflex, then regrets what he said right after.

“You’re awful! A horrible, horrible person!” Tsuki spits, stomping their feet and pointing at him. Their voice had just risen many volumes. “Fine! I can walk on my own! Who even  _ needs _ you?! Not me! The wall will help me just fine. Yes, the walls are my friends. They support me,  _ different from some people!” _ They tap the wall that is supporting them after this stunt. When attempting to take a step, they immediately trip and almost fall.

“What did I do to deserve this?” he mutters to himself, picking at the bridge of his nose.  _ ‘Why is my life so hard?’ _ “Can you speak any louder?”

“AS A MATTER OF FACT, YES, I CAN!” Tsuki yells as loudly as they can.

The floor suddenly leaves their feet as Lucifer holds them bridal style. They yell loudly into Lucifer’s ear and squirm before they can even tell what is going on. Lucifer growls above Tsuki and they finally look like they know what is happening. Tsuki is clinging hard to his shoulders and neck to support themself, afraid of falling. They seem to have some fear of falling. If Lucifer had to guess, it’s probably thanks to their massive unluckiness. But Lucifer holds them with ease, since they weigh nothing to the strong demon.

“Be. Quiet,” he growls again. “Here, I’ll carry you. Now behave.”

They stare at him, stunned, for a second, before grimacing.

“Urg, everything is spinning…” they complain, looking very dazed again. Tsuki rubs their eyes with one hand while the other keeps grabbing at Lucifer’s clothes.

By the King of Hell… This human is troublesome. To think it only happened because the avatar of pride decided to go ahead and buy them the necklace they liked… How should he even act around them now? How many presents does the demon have to give them until they can stop acting like they don’t deserve it? Sighing again, Lucifer decides to just ask them tomorrow, when they are sober and in their right mind.

But before he can even leave the entrance hall, the demon hears footsteps coming from the hallway.

“What is all this yelling about?” Mammon appears in the hallway, looking annoyed.

_ ‘Great. Tsuki’s luck is rubbing on me.’ _

“Hi Mammon,” Tsuki waves, acting just like a little kid.

Lucifer groans, loudly. He doesn’t need any more trouble or headache. Why, from all his brothers, does it have to be Mammon?

“Tsuki is drunk, I’ll take them to their room. Sorry if the yelling bothered you.” Then he starts walking, fast. Mammon is left shocked for a second but he recovers and follows Lucifer. Since his younger brother is following him, he hands the bag of desserts to him to carry and tells Mammon to share it with the others, as Tsuki’s apology present. Apology for what, Lucifer does not know.

“Tsuki is drunk?!”

“Mammon!” the human calls cheerfully. “I had the  _ best _ dinner with Lucifer today! He gave me a pretty necklace!” They giggle happily and point at the necklace on them. Mammon’s eyes widen when he realizes what it is. A rare and expensive stone. Both a symbol of health and adoration. “Isn’t Lucifer the  _ best _ ? He gives me presents and everything I ask for!”

Didn’t they just call him an awful horrible person, a minute ago? By Hell, this human is  _ loud _ . They were loud back at the music room too. Normally, they are only loud when they are angry, but it seems like being drunk also leaves them very agitated and excited. Must take them to bed quickly, before they start saying things they will regret. 

“Mammon! Do you want to join next time? Let’s all drink!”

“ _ Drink?!” _ Mammon exclaims, in a mix of surprise and disbelief. “Tsuki doesn’t drink, but they  _ are _ drunk!” he states, still following Lucifer around. “Why are they drunk? Did you get them drunk, Lucifer?”

“Of course, not!” Lucifer takes great offense from that accusation. What is Mammon even implying? That the avatar of pride wants to get his way with Tsuki when they are drunk? Impossible! Lucifer would never act that low; that is for far lesser demons who can’t control their desires. “Tsuki drank  _ my _ wine because they wanted to.”

“Why are you two fighting?” Tsuki asks curiously. They let themselves fall slack on Lucifer’s arms—looks like they want to see if the demon is capable of holding all their weight. Of course he is.

“We aren’t fighting.” Lucifer shows his lover a smile and Tsuki melts a little. They are looking so cute right now, eyes big and a soft expression for once. Not acting annoying or anxious, which are pretty much their only two moods. Sometimes they act recklessly too. He wants to pet their pretty face. Too bad Mammon is right here. “I have to say, the way your mood swings back and forth is starting to become enchanting. Mammon, open the door for me.”

They have arrived in front of Tsuki’s room. Mammon fidgets a little before putting his hand on the doorknob.

“Uh. What are you going to do with them?” the avatar of greed asks carefully to Lucifer.

It takes a moment for Lucifer to snap.  _ ‘What is he implying AGAIN? Does Mammon WANT to anger me?’ _

“What,  _ exactly _ , you think I’m going to  _ do?” _ His voice is low and dangerous. Mammon gulps and shrieks, remaining quiet. “I’m going to put them to  _ bed _ and,  _ hopefully _ , they will  _ sleep _ right away. Now  _ move _ .”

Mammon looks at Lucifer, then at Tsuki, and back to Lucifer. He nods quietly, and opens the door. Lucifer enters without hesitation and kicks the door shut once he’s inside, not even telling Mammon a goodbye. The door makes a loud sound that startles Tsuki. The demon wastes no time and drops the human on their bed without much care. They let out a surprised yelp when they hit the soft mattress. Then, he turns and leaves the presents they bought together on top of Tsuki’s table.

“I’m going to leave Diavolo’s and Mephistopheles presents here, on your table. Take your clothes off and go to sleep, Tsuki.”

Tsuki looks at him for a moment. They even try to take off their shoes, but they seem to struggle and give up, dropping their legs back to the bed.

“Too tired…” Tsuki murmurs. “Take my clothes off, Lucifer.”

Lucifer remains quiet, thinking. He walks calmly to his human, and observes their semblance from above. They are still flustered and their eyes seem too heavy to keep open. They are still staring at Lucifer, waiting for his reaction. He shouldn’t indulge them too much. This human is already unpredictable when sober, so when drunk…

“How are you feeling?” he finally asks, voice low and careful.

“My head is spinning and my body feels so heavy. I don’t wanna move…” Truly, they don’t look very well. Maybe he should even stay with them for a while, make sure they don’t vomit all over their bed.

Without another word, Lucifer proceeds to take off their shoes and opens the buttons on their pants. He takes off the glasses, necklace and piercings, and puts all of them on the top of the nightstand. He also takes out their wallet and D.D.D. from the pockets and leaves those items on the nightstand as well. He leaves for a moment to grab another blanket from their wardrobe and covers Tsuki with it.

“Really, what a terrible drunk human you are,” he comments. His voice lacks an edge, as he’s feeling more tired than annoyed. Lucifer contemplates whether to stay or not for a while. Then remembers Mammon could be watching in the hallway to make sure he leaves soon. He sighs. “Goodnight Tsuki, call me if you need anything else.” When he moves away, the human calls him.

“Wait.” Lucifer stops. “Won’t you give me a goodnight kiss?” They make  _ such _ an innocent expression. It’s so  _ cute _ but at the same time Lucifer feels like they know exactly what they are doing. What a cunning human.

“How old are you?” he asks right after, already feeling a smile forming. It’s so easy (and fun) to mess with them.

“Screw you.”

At that, Lucifer laughs briefly. He expected this much.

“My, my, you have to be the worst drunken human in existence. So needy,” he complains in good humor, moving back to his lover’s side.

Lucifer bends over and gives them a chaste kiss on the lips, but when he attempts to leave, Tsuki passes an arm around his neck and pulls the demon closer so they can kiss him again. Their tongue licks Lucifer’s lips, urging him to open his mouth. He smiles at their insistence and decides to kiss them like they want, deeply and full of longing. When he pulls away, Tsuki whines and keeps their hold on his neck, messing with his clothes.

***

“Don’t you want to spend the night here?” They make a short pause. “Daddy?”

“What?” Lucifer tries to push away so he can take a better look at Tsuki, not believing what he just heard.

“HAHAHAHAHA,” they crack a loud laugh seeing his confused expression. “I always wanted to call you this.” They laugh even more for a while. “Daddy~” they repeat, a bit agitatedly.

_ Unbelievable _ . Do they have those filthy thoughts and kinks under all that inexperienced anxiety? Do they have a dirty side?  _ Oh _ , it excites Lucifer, too bad they are too drunk for this kind of thing. Still, another thing to look forward to in the near future.

“Do you like it?” they ask, bashful this time.

“Why don’t you ask me again when you’re sober?”

“I AM sober!” they insist again, now with a bit of anger. Their mood changes so fast, even faster than when they are sober. They are still clinging to him, not wanting to let Lucifer leave. The avatar of pride is starting to think they won’t remember a single thing tomorrow. “Come on, daddy~ let’s sleep together~” they invite him in a very mischievous way, now holding his collar with both hands, pulling him closer.  _ Damn, _ Lucifer is really liking this shameless side of Tsuki, they are being pretty erotic right now. Certainly, the human is going to hate him if he does anything to them while they are drunk like this. Lucifer has a lot of self-control, but he feels like he needs to leave soon. Time to put them to sleep.

Lucifer lets himself be dragged into bed, lying beside his lover. Tsuki laughs, feeling victorious, then starts kissing Lucifer all over his face. The human set their lips on Lucifer’s and they spend a long time making out and touching each other. Lucifer brings a hand to Tsuki’s hair and brushes it for a minute, then massages their head, adding a very weak sleeping spell. The demon is afraid of overdoing it and leaving Tsuki in a coma state for days. That would be terrible on so many levels. He pushes away, slowly, wanting to see if this weak spell is going to work or not. The human opens their eyes and looks at him with heavy and unfocused eyes; the grip they have on his clothes starts to feel weaker.

“Tsuki?” Lucifer calls out. He stares at them with a bit of worry; they tend to be either very sensitive or immune to demon spells so he wants to play safe here. They yawn all of sudden and start cuddling into Lucifer’s body.

“I’m sleepy… Sleep with me?”

“Not tonight.” Though he answers, the human has already started to drowse off. “Good night, my love.”

Lucifer gives them one last kiss on their forehead. Tsuki is already sleeping. He gets off the bed and fixes the blanket over them. He casts one last look over the human before he leaves, feeling infuriatingly horny.


	16. The Mighty Fall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another chapter today. We close to the end. Yay.
> 
> The Mighty Fall by Fall Out Boy  
> “Oh how the mighty fall in love.”

**Chapter 12.5 – The Mighty Fall**

Next morning comes by and waking up is a pain. Your head is throbbing and your stomach feels upset. It takes a long time to get out of bed, and only because you are getting nauseous. You can’t remember how you even reached home; you are still in last night’s clothes too. Last thing you can remember is leaving the restaurant with Lucifer, and you have a feeling he might have asked for a taxi? The memory is foggy.

Everything makes your head hurt. Walking in circles in the bathroom until the pain in your abdomen gets better has caused the opposite effect. It gets stronger and you vomit in the toilet. It feels terrible and disgusting. However, your stomach does feel a bit better after emptying itself. You proceed to take a bath. It helps to make you feel clean, but barely does anything to the ever constant pulsing in your head. Leaving the shower, you furiously go through every drawer in your room trying to find any painkillers; finding them, you greedily take the medicine with some water.

Still feeling like shit, you fall back into the bed, still in a bathrobe, and with damp hair, not caring about anything. You doze off for a while.

The medicine seems to have worked, because next time you open your eyes your head feels a bit lighter. You were dreaming about kissing Lucifer in the darkness of your room, laying in bed with him, and you  _ hate _ the series of notifications noises that keep buzzing from your phone that have woken you. Groaning, you reluctantly sit on your bed and grab the D.D.D. Mammon has sent over twenty messages and he is still writing more. Your fingers fly all over the screen while you spam the angry emoji until he stops messaging you. It takes you a minute to fully read all of the messages, and when you do, you feel cold sweat emerging on your skin.

**Mammon**

_ Tsuki, are you wake now??? _

_ So, are you feeling any better? _

_ Lucifer had to carry you to your room last night. _

_ You were terribly drunk. _

_ Didn’t even talk like yourself! It was so weird! _

_ What even made you drink that much, anyway? _

_ Did Lucifer force you??? _

_ He denied it. Angrily. _

_ You told us you didn’t like to drink! _

You stare mindlessly at the screen for way too long. Only when Mammon sends more texts asking why you are taking so long to reply do you snap back to reality. Swiping your fingers at the screen, you send a couple more texts to Mammon in a hurry.

**Tsukishima**

_ Hi Mammon. You woke me up. _

_ I’m a bit sleepy still. _

_ Yes, I’m better, thanks for asking. Just have a headache. _

_ My night was fun. _

_ It was nothing, really. Lucifer didn’t force me to do anything! _

_ The wine was just too good to pass on so I drank a bit too much thinking nothing would happen. _

_ Sorry if I caused any problems!!! _

**Mammon**

_ You really didn’t cause any problems … _

_ Lucifer was the only one who handled you. _

_ ‘Fuck’. _

**Tsukishima**

:shocked sticker:

_ I need to call Lucifer. _

_ Bye _

**Mammon**

_ Wait _

But you close the chat, typing Lucifer’s number right away. Not remembering what happened last night is stressing you out. As your headache is getting better, a lot of details you ignored upon waking are starting to get to you. You never take off your piercings to sleep, not all of them. The blanket you are using is another one that was in the closet before; you had slept over your usual one. Each second you hear the dialing sound makes you more and more anxious. You fall into the headboard, suddenly feeling weak. What did you do last night? Why did you drink that much wine and get too drunk to even remember what happened!

“Tsuki?” Lucifer’s hoarse voice comes from the speaker, sending a wave of shock through your body. Looks like you had just woken him up.

“Sorry! Did I wake you up?” you say in way too high a pitch. Your nerves are getting the best of you. “I’m so sorry! I got some texts from Mammon just now. Did I get drunk last night? Did I cause any problems? I can’t remember what happened but I am deeply sorry and embarrassed for whatever I have done!”

There’s silence on the other side for a few seconds. Your hand is holding the D.D.D. a bit too tightly, and your whole body trembles. What if you embarrassed Lucifer so hard he will never want to eat out with you ever again? Oh no, what if he decides you are way too much trouble for him to handle and wants to break up now?! NO! You can’t stand it! The sound of grunts and sheets moving are all you can hear for a moment.

“Did you say you don’t remember what happened last night?” Lucifer says slowly, trying to wake up properly.

“No, I don’t. The last thing I remember is when we left Ristorante Six and you called a taxi. Did you call a taxi?” you ask uncertainly.

He goes silent again.

“Yes, I did, because you couldn’t walk straight. And you remember nothing after that?”

“I’m so sorry! What did I do?! I hate causing problems, whatever I did…”

“ _ I know _ , you didn’t cause any problems, Tsuki. Relax!” Lucifer’s voice raises and his words are firm. You gulp and stay quiet. Anxiety starts giving up space for fear. You didn’t want to anger Lucifer as the first thing you do in the morning. “Ah. Sorry, it wasn’t my intention to come off this harsh,” he corrects himself after noticing your sudden lack of noise. “Like I said, you didn’t do anything bad or cause any problems. Aside from bothering me, I suppose.” He laughs. “You are a very talkative drunk. And very clingy too. You attached yourself to me, asked me to drink with you, carry you, to take off your clothes… And if I ever said ‘no,’ you got all offended and called me names. When I refused to give you a goodnight kiss, you told me to ‘screw myself.’”

You slide down the bed, feeling terrible. Staring mortified at the floor, you wish you could dig a hole and bury yourself here. ‘ _ I’m dying. This is what dying from embarrassment feels like _ . _ ’ _ Curse your drunk self, apparently it has no notion of fear or shame, as it didn’t create any excuses to order Lucifer around and touch him. You are almost feeling jealous. Now you really want to remember what it was like, being carried in Lucifer's arms to your room, him putting you to bed… You whine quietly, hoping Lucifer can’t hear you. Why can’t a lightning strike you right now, taking you out of your misery?

“Don’t beat yourself too much over it.” Lucifer’s voice sounds calmer and comforting. “I had fun last night, with you.” A blush rises in your face at his words. “I take it you are feeling well? Since you seem to be  _ so _ distraught about last night.”

“Ah…” You’re still thinking about ‘ _ I had fun with you.’ _ Cleaning your throat, you try to calm yourself. “I had a rough morning, actually. My head is still killing me, but it got better, I vomited earlier in the bathroom…” Lucifer gasps on that line. “But I’m fine now! I’ll never drink again.”

“Isn’t it what everyone says when they have a hangover?” he says playfully and now you remember how he looked like trash when you saw him hungover in the morning you two got together. “Are you sure you’re fine? Can I get you anything to sober up?” Lucifer sounds concerned. You don’t like worrying him,  _ but _ you’re not going to deny an offer of some care from him. He didn’t say anything about breaking up so far… Good… You’re starting to feel less anxious now.

“Do you demons have anything to take alcohol out of the body?”

“Yes, there’s a particular bitter tea that helps when you’re feeling hungover. I’m not sure if it will work on a human but we can try.”

“I’ll accept, thanks.” Your blush deepens when you consider your next words. “Thank you so much for taking care of me when I was drunk, Lucifer. I didn’t do it on purpose, I swear.”

“I know,” he sighs. “Everything’s fine.”

“That’s great… Oh! I also had a lot of fun last night!” you add, quickly. “The dinner was nice, and I love the necklace you gave me.”

Lucifer hums happily.

“I’m glad. Now, if you excuse me, I need to get ready for the day.”

“Right, me too.”

“Find me in the kitchen, I’ll make you the tea.”

“Ok. See you soon!”

Lucifer hangs up.

Nested in the bed, you feel all warm inside. You are so relieved you didn’t cause any problems to Lucifer or to anyone else. You’d gotten drunk once and made a mess in your friend’s house and bothered everyone with your never ending rambles. It embarrassed you so much you promised to never drink again. You should have stuck to this promise, but at least things weren’t as bad as you imagined they would be. While daydreaming, your mind wonders about when Lucifer said you had asked for a goodnight kiss. It feels so odd, you never asked anyone for a goodnight kiss. Suddenly you remember last night’s dream, of kissing Lucifer in the dark. It isn’t the first and probably won’t be the last dream like that. The only thing you wonder about is if he did kiss you last night like in the dream…

Sighing, you stand. You need to get ready for the day too. There are two bags over your table. It takes you a minute to remember: today is Diavolo’s birthday party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next one is the biggie deal of the story.


	17. Weightless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Celebrating 2k hits on both part 1 and part 2, I bring this chapter one day sooner ^^;;  
> Ah damn, I hope it's a nice read because I RE WROTE IT FOUR TIMES! Legit spend like a month working on this chapter and I still dislike many parts >:( I may dislike it but it's the version I liked the best LOL  
> Anyway, have a nice day and read my author's note.
> 
> ("and comment, like and subscribe!" XD)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weightless by All Time Low  
> “Maybe it's not my weekend but it's gonna be my year. And I'm so sick of watching while the minutes pass as I go nowhere. And this is my reaction to everything I fear. 'Cause I've been going crazy. I don't wanna waste another minute here. I make believe that I impress. That every word, by design, turns a head. I wanna feel reckless, wanna live it up just because. I wanna feel weightless 'cause that would be enough.”
> 
> >:) I felt like this song illustrates the outcome of everything Tsuki went through and their feelings very well >:)  
> (btw you can listen to it on the serie's playlist -> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1fwBVrKq2uuu1LntOc2JfM?si=7fDq4SnnS8qWNnvAkQUDFQ)  
> This chapter is the aftermath of /everything/, even though there are 2 more chapters to go. Kind of a big deal. To me at least.

**Chapter 13 – Weightless**

The day goes by  _ fast _ . The tea Lucifer made you to sober up has a disgusting taste, but it does make you feel a bit better. You don’t see him again after breakfast, as the avatar of pride said he needed to catch up with his work before having to leave for the party. 

After breakfast, as you wait for the headache and nausea to pass, you do some reflecting about yesterday and you realize your outburst was uncalled for. Asmo was right, his brothers were just a bit freaked out because they worry for you. Now you really feel like regretting all that. Way to overreact, Tsuki. You meet the demons at the common room where you apologize, tell them you regret snapping yesterday and make sure to promise to not lash out at them like that again. The demons don’t look angry at you at all through your apology speech. And they loved the donuts (especially Beel), having eaten them all during breakfast. With a lighter mind, you kill some time watching anime with Levi in the afternoon. After leaving everything ready for tonight, of course.

Instead of dressing alone, you go to Asmo’s room to get ready. The avatar of lust spends the whole time asking about your new relationship with his older brother and you’re forced to answer everything since you sort of agree to do it. He does your hair and makeup. Asmo is able to make some braids on your wild hair and tie them behind your head. When your makeup is done, Asmo thinks you are lacking details, so he finds a red rose ornament to add to the side of your hair. It did add a lot to your outfit.

Having finished with you, Asmo goes to finish his own makeup while you are free to put on your new clothes. Looking at your figure in the mirror, you can’t stop asking why you did this to yourself. The fabric is nice and all, but it’s  _ scandalous _ red. The details are on black and only now your stupid head starts thinking the color scheme is just like Diavolo’s RAD uniform; he’ll probably think you dressed like this for  _ him _ .

“Asmo, I don’t want to use it anymore.” Your anxiety is peaking, this was a terrible idea.

“Why not, my dear? You look divine!” Asmo almost yells. The avatar of lust is almost done too. He’s using dark and pink clothes that are tight on his body, a sleeveless top and a skirt. His heels are super high too, making him a lot taller. His dark makeup really valorizes his eyes and pale skin.

“I feel like I’m using Diavolo’s colors.”

“He doesn’t own colors,” Asmo deadpans.

“You know magic, right? Change the color.”

“No way!” He shakes his head and walks from his mirror. “You are beautiful! Stop overthinking. And look at the good side, Lucifer likes ‘Diavolo colors’ too!”

“This does  _ not _ make me feel better!” You stomp your foot and start walking in circles in the pink and purple room, groaning worriedly. Despite your outburst, this is the exact reason why you picked such colors. To impress Lucifer.

Asmo watches you carefully, unsure of how to calm you down. After a minute or so he speaks again.

“Don’t be like that! Now get your jewels, you said you want to use the necklace Lucifer gave you yesterday, right? I’ll help you put it on.”

You stop in the middle of the room, weighing your options. Yes, you could go back to your room and scan your wardrobe for another outfit. There’s nothing quite this elegant but there  _ must _ be something you can change into.

Nodding, you leave Asmo’s room saying you’ll be back soon and he returns to his own makeup. Closing his door, you see someone at the other end of the hallway. It's Lucifer. ‘ _ Fuck.’ _ You rush to get to your room before he can see you. A stupid choice, really, because the sound of your heels hitting the floor of the hallway catches Lucifer’s attention and he looks your way. ‘ _ How much of an idiot am I? Why didn't I go back into Asmo’s room? _ ’ You almost yell in frustration at your own stupidity.

“Tsuki, are you ready? We should leave in a few…” he stops. You have become frozen in the middle of the hallway and just wait for some lightning to kill you on the spot or for the ground to open and swallow you whole. Lucifer stares at you for way too long, his eyes moving up and down. He’s using a really elegant black suit, black button up shirt and a bright red tie and gloves. Looking impeccable as always. Why do they even dress up this nicely when they will end up changing to their demon forms later? Status?

“Y-yes…?” This silence and staring is starting to get uncomfortable.

Your voice makes Lucifer snap out of it. He looks away, a light blush starting to appear on his cheeks.

“We’ll leave in a few minutes,” he finishes his previous phrase. “You look amazing.” He shows you a small smile that you could only interpret as shy. “I almost didn’t recognize you in those clothes. Did Asmo buy them for you?”

You can feel your brain fighting itself over whether to confirm or deny his assumptions. This floaty bright red ballgown was all your idea. The majority of the dress is scarlet, with a tight black-detailed corset and an extended layer of translucent black gauze over the skirt. The butterfly sleeves are made of the same delicate sheer fabric. Red arm-length evening gloves and matching red heels accent the outfit. The heels have a spell to make them as comfortable as an old pair of sneakers. You’re regretting not buying a coat or scarf to match the dress, since it leaves your neck, shoulder and part of your back nude. You are going to feel cold at the party today.

“Thank you.” You look down, absentmindedly grabbing the fabric of the dress. “N-no I…I actually chose them myself.” Pride has won the fight.

“Really?” The surprise is evident in his voice. “I wouldn’t expect it since this dress looks rather…” he stops himself, afraid that whatever he was going to say could possibly upset you. “It looks great on you,” he says instead, smiling politely. “I think you may even steal the spotlight from Lord Diavolo.”

“Wha… You think so?” You are blushing  _ so _ hard now.

“Of course.” His smile grows bigger. “Learn how to accept a sincere compliment.”

“Ah…okay, thank you.” Tentatively you look back at him. He looks as gorgeous as always. You almost want to grab his hair and mess it up so he won’t look as perfect. He would kill you too. “You also look really handsome.” Lucifer keeps on smiling lovelily. “I am ready, I just need to grab some jewels in my room.” You make a move to try to pass him, and Lucifer steps aside. Honestly, it’s a miracle you can still function properly. “Asmo is ready, I was in his room.”

“Perfect. I just need to check on Leviathan. The others are ready too. Will you be using the new necklace I give you?”

“Yes!” you reassure him, smiling.

Lucifer hums, pleased. As he passes, he stops for a moment right beside you, and takes another look at your clothes. It starts to feel weird, standing next to him with your back nude while he is using as much clothing as always. You feel naked. You move forward, looking straight ahead, since you’re feeling like your body is going to combust and melt. Once you find yourself in the comfort and privacy of your room, you take a deep breath to calm down. Lucifer’s words are still dancing in your head. _‘You look amazing,’_ _‘You may steal the spotlight from Lord Diavolo,’_ _‘Learn how to accept a sincere compliment.’_ This pesky heart of yours doesn't stop beating fast, maybe it wants to kill you too. You keep on taking slow and deep breaths until you don’t feel like passing out. While pacing around the room, you almost forget why you are here. It takes a look at the mirror to realize you need to put on your earrings and necklace. At first you were only going to put in the round ruby earrings Asmo lent you, but it won’t destroy your look if you leave in two other small piercings as well. Sadly, the midnight stone matches _nothing_ , but with the dark chain you got from Asmo it looks better than the silver one that came with the necklace.

A few minutes later, you are waiting for the others in the entrance hall. All the brothers are well dressed and you hear even more compliments. Looks like you manage to take the breath away from all the sins. It feels nice to hear all of those gorgeous demons praise you with such adoration. You blush for a long time. Now you feel more confident about your choice of clothes.

Instead of a transport, Lucifer opens a portal to the Demon Lord’s Castle. The angels and Solomon meet you at the entrance, briefly. Luke looks annoyed to be here, but Solomon and Simeon are excited and all smiles. You tell them you are going to meet later to talk, but first you need to give Diavolo his present.

The castle is as beautiful as always, perfectly tidy and sparkling. There are many, many demons in the castle today. Lucifer makes sure to let you know they are mostly very important and influential demons who wouldn’t lay a finger on you since Diavolo himself made a point to talk about the exchange student at this party today. But still, he recommends you not to be alone, which is yet another reason to fuel your anxiety.

After all the demons and you greet Diavolo, Belphie goes first and exchanges a few words with the Prince of the Devildom and gives him his present. Whatever it is. When the demon brothers leave, you and Lucifer stay behind to talk to Diavolo and Barbatos (the butler is just always here, isn’t he?).

“H-Happy birthday, Lord Diavolo,” you greet him nervously, shoving the present in his face.

“Thank you, Tsuki! I wasn’t expecting it!” Diavolo laughs happily. He takes the present and looks at the fancy box before passing it to Barbatos, who is currently holding a lot of other presents. “I’ll make sure to let you know what I think of the present later.”

“You’re welcome, I hope you like it,” you feel forced to say, though you couldn’t care less on the inside. “Lord, Diavolo, can I say a few words?” Diavolo nods, looking interested.  _ It’s now or never.  _ “After a lot of thinking, I decided to move past our previous disagreements and turn a new leaf. I just want to keep living my remaining time in the Devildom peacefully, without any more trouble or near-death situations,” you politely explain, still feeling like a nervous wreck. Your legs tremble slightly and your stomach feels sick. “And uh, sorry if I sounded too rude or harsh that one time, I am… _ ashamed _ of the way I talked back then.” You force yourself to smile. Saying that is  _ painful _ . Having Lucifer besides you definitely helps, otherwise you don’t feel like you would be able to apologize. The avatar of pride looks calm on the exterior, but his piercing eyes are focused on you and his serious expression means he’s carefully watching your every word.

Both Diavolo and Barbatos stare at you in silence, looking stunned. You and Lucifer wait for them to react. Diavolo turns to his servant for a moment, as if he is unsure if he listened to all that or not. Barabatos only nods, discreetly, making Diavolo meet your eyes again. 

“Oh…I never expected you to apologize…” Diavolo admits, still looking surprised. “Thank you! But you didn’t need to.”  _ ‘I didn’t?!’ _ Feeling a hand on your shoulder, your head turns to look at Lucifer, who’s very, very serious. It’s like he felt how you were going to say something. “Like I told you that day, I take every criticism to heart. And you did pass through a lot. I don’t want to see you having to face any more hardships myself, so I’ll make sure to not let anything else fall onto your shoulders. I’m sorry as well,” Diavolo says with a serious expression.

“Really? Or are you saying that just to make it easier for me to forgive you?” you bust out before thinking twice.

“ _ Tsuki _ ,” Lucifer calls out in a low and dangerous tone.

“I mean every word,” Diavolo reassures you. He kind of seems genuine, but his easygoing and childlike persona can’t fool you anymore. Below all that, he is still a few thousand years old prince of Hell. He recognizes he fucked up and now is trying to make amends. If he still feels like using you or not, only time will tell.

“My apologies, I will trust your words, Lord Diavolo,” you say more  _ for Lucifer _ than for Diavolo. Honestly, you just want to get it done. No need to sugar coat anything, only apologize, make him think you are not as against him as you are and move on with your life.

Diavolo seems to trust your not-so-sincere words and smiles.

“I’m glad we are able to clean up this matter. Please enjoy the party.”

“Thank you, I’ll try.”

“Tsuki!” Lucifer says again.

“What? I just don’t like parties.” You show him an annoyed expression.

“I hope you at least can enjoy the food, which is cooked by the most famous and renowned cook in the Devildom,” Barbatos comments, extra politely. Now you don’t feel like eating anything. Everything he says just sounds really ominous now.

You and Lucifer politely thank both and leave. Or rather, Lucifer drags you with him, holding your arm not so kindly. Both of you walk away from the host of the party and most of his guests. Lucifer only speaks again when you are in a calmer part of the giant hall, next to some big stained glass windows in shades of blue and gold. The demon slows his rushed pace. When talking again, his voice is low as though worried about someone listening to him.

“You didn’t really forgive him, did you?”

“Duh.”

“Could have acted a bit more genuine.”

“I swear, I tried. I just couldn’t. Do you think  _ he _ was being genuine?”

“Of course he was,” Lucifer replies immediately. “Lord Diavolo likes you and was sad by how you felt after the whole Belphie deal. He’s taking responsibility over it.”

“Is that what you  _ really _ think or are you only saying what I want to hear too?”

He sighs, looking more and more stressed after each passing second. Stopping in the middle of the ballroom, he turns to you and waits for you to do the same. He has an ugly frown now.

“I  _ mean _ it. I’m not asking for you to trust Lord Diavolo but you know you can trust me, right? I’m doing my best to make sure nothing else happens to you either.”

Stomping your foot over the pristine floor, you let out a puff. Your eyes roll before looking away. Having heard  _ ‘I’ll make sure nothing happens to you’ _ so many times since you came to the Devildom has made the sentence lose all meaning, it weighs nothing now.

“If you say so,” you spit in his direction, refusing to meet his eyes.

You hear a growl, and dare to look back at the demon. Only to realize he’s already in his demon form. You almost stumble backwards in shock. Lucifer’s eyes are squinting in his stern expression.

“Why can’t you just  _ trust _ people?”

“Maybe because I was betrayed in the past? And  _ again _ this year!” You feel like all your patience has evaporated.  _ How dare he? _ Who gave him the right? He’s skeptical too! Lucifer has no right to question who you decide to trust. “Not once and not twice! It hurts a lot, you know?” you are yelling now. “Did you ever have someone who you believed was on your side stab you in the back?”

“Of course, I  _ have,” _ Lucifer growls angrily. His wings flicker, and when they expand, they make the demon look bigger than he is. There is a threatening and dark aura forming around him.

A wave of fear is starting to cover you, making you take a few steps away. Stepping badly over one of your heels, you lose your balance for a second, but luckily you manage to prevent yourself from falling by holding on one of the opened windows. It takes you a minute of staring at Lucifer’s angry face to get it. The demon is talking about his  _ father _ . The G guy, who created him, then banished him and his brothers after they had started a rebellion to save their sister.

“Shit. Sorry,” you quickly apologize, lowering your head and staring at the sparkling palace ground. You’re starting to feel like passing out again, heart beating too fast and too uncomfortably in your chest.

“Do not worry,” Lucifer murmurs. You can tell that some of the previous anger has left his voice. “We both have our scars.”

Ah, damn, now the mood is all heavy. You just made him remember some awful stuff and got him all mad. In hindsight, you could have said you trusted him and ended that conversation…

“I want to go home…” you whine, still facing the ground.  _ ‘I should have never come here.’ _

“What’s going on?” It’s Satan. Both you and Lucifer turn to stare at the avatar of wrath. There are worry lines tainting his beautiful face. He has turned into his demon form already.

“Nothing,” you tell him without hesitation. “Where are the others?”

Satan looks a bit taken aback for a few seconds. Maybe he expected you to be shaken or angry.

“Levi, Beel and Belphie are at a table ahead, in the corner.”

“Great, let’s go.” You start walking without waiting for him.

“Uh…”

“I need to greet a few people, keep an eye on Tsuki for me, Satan,” Lucifer says. He’s going in the opposite direction. Now you don’t know if he is giving you space, running away or still angry over what you said. And honestly you don’t want to know or care. 

Satan rushes to your side and inquires again over what happened. You groan before telling him  _ nothing _ happened, you just said some stupid thing. It was all thanks to Diavolo. Lucifer’s loyalty for that demon simply gets on your nerves sometimes. You didn’t even say anything wrong! What did he want you to say?! Lick his boots, maybe? You are not Lucifer, you are not bound to please Diavolo. In fact, you feel like you pleased him a bit too much just now. You wonder, if Lucifer had to choose between you and Diavolo, who would he choose? But this question gives you  _ extreme _ anxiety; you don’t actually want to hear his answer. Analyzing it coldly, you are just some human that will live seventy more years or so while Diavolo is the immortal Prince of Hell. His pick seems obvious.  _ It hurts _ . At least three times a day, you wish you weren’t this smart… If you were dumb, dense and ignorant, life would be easier. Probably. At least you wouldn’t overthink your life choices every minute of the day.

There’s no way you are going to forgive Diavolo anytime soon… Honestly, do you  _ have _ to?

Satan helps you sit at the table with his brothers and you immediately bring your hands to your face and sigh.  _ ‘Why did this happen?’ _ It was supposed to be simple and easy, apologize to Diavolo so Lucifer will be happy and you won’t feel like the prince hates you now. Now Lucifer hates... Ah no, dwelling in self-loathing won’t help you. He’s probably not happy with the way he conducted himself either. Right?  _ Right _ , stupid brain, stop doubting him.

Levi, Belphie, Satan and Bell are all looking at you. Beel is also eating a mountain of food that is currently right in front of him. You pass a hand over your face then freeze, remembering how much makeup Asmo put on you. Did you just  _ destroy _ your perfect makeup?!

“Are you ok?” You hear Levi’s worried voice, snapping you from your daydreams. It makes you raise your head a bit to look at him. Yeah, he looks worried too.

“Did you fight with Lucifer, Tsuki?” Satan asks before you can reply to Levi.

“Did you?” Belphie questions.

To that, you bump your fists onto the table, startling everyone.

“We  _ didn’t _ fight!” you yell. The demons don’t even dare move for a moment; they can see how distraught you suddenly got. Slowly, Belphie raises his hands in a peace gesture.

“Chill,” he says, tone low and careful. “We are sorry, but can you please tell us what happened then?”

You groan, then bring your hands back to your face again. ‘ _ Oh, no the makeup _ !’ Sitting like a normal person, you take a deep breath and tell the boys how one unfortunate sentence raised a lot of disagreements and created a bad mood between you and Lucifer. It isn’t like you don’t  _ trust _ the avatar of pride, you’re more tired of listening to the same empty promises over and over again, that’s what upset you. You admit it was  _ almost _ a fight, but a proper fight would have more yelling.

“Are you two always overreacting over every little thing?” the avatar of sloth deadpans and you don’t know if you want to sadly agree or slap him in the face.

“Belphie!” Satan calls him out. “That’s insensitive!”

“Sorry, mom.”

“Call me that again and I will…”

“Tell father?” You snort at Levi’s comment.

“Don’t test my patience, Levi,” the avatar of wrath says in a very threatening way.

Beel stands after finishing eating all of the food that was over the table. He offers to bring you something to eat and you nod, smiling at him. The avatar of gluttony leaves and now you should say something too.

“I’m afraid Belphie is right.” Your stomach does a flip after you say it.  _ ‘Noooo, don’t say it! We don’t like the Goblin Murderer!’ _ The demons (Belphie included) are  _ shocked _ to hear you say such a thing too. “I think I should go find him and clear up things?”

“Sounds like it,” Levi agrees. “Lucifer really doesn’t like to remember our time in the Celestial Realm. I know you probably didn’t mean to say it that way and I’m sure Lucifer knows it too. It's just a little misunderstanding, right?”

“Yeah, but maybe you should wait for him to cool his head first, Tsuki,” Satan suggests.

You nod. Beel is back with his hands full of food. A variety of food is laid over the table, even his brothers stare at it. That’s like, food that would last a few days for any normal person. You thank Beel anyway and try to eat some stuff, though you don’t feel hungry. Everything looks good and smells good. When you taste it, you must admit, it tastes delicious too. You expected no less from such a fancy party.

“I’m still not over you agreeing with me, Tsuki,” Belphie comments.

“Me either.” He laughs. “It’s no lie, your older brother does tend to overreact a lot. And I’m kind of hot headed.”

“You are.” Now you’re forced to squint at Belphie, annoyed. “What? You said it yourself,” he smiles.  _ ‘What a piece of shit.’ _

Satan and Levi seem to relax, seeing you bickering with Belphie over pointless stuff. The avatar of sloth does act like a younger brother. You may not have siblings, but you are close with your cousins and those two sure fight a lot for the most meaningless stuff. Most be a sibling thing, sometimes the demon brothers’ fights remind you of them.

Levi moves and sits beside you, stopping your arguing with Belphie. The avatar of envy places his D.D.D. on the table, shoving away some food, and starts putting on some light-hearted anime compilations for you two to watch. Bless his heart. Satan leaves to get some beverages. He only brings non-alcoholic stuff, bless him too.

Watching anime with Levi does make you feel a little better, more than the funny videos. Levi is probably happy too, since he has some strong social anxiety and didn’t want to come just as much as you. You remember to ask Levi if you messed up your makeup and the avatar of envy insists it's still perfect. To prove his point, he takes a selfie of you two, though being very shy about it. In fact, asking for the selfie was quite the brave act by itself. Then his brothers all decide to take selfies with you too. Of course…the return of Mr. Popular.

After a long time, you see Asmo and Mammon at a distance. They seem to be arguing. What were they even doing so far? Dancing, flirting and attempting to commit crimes? It doesn’t take long for them to approach the table too.

“This time I’ll do things right!” Mammon announces, resolute.

“Right, right,” Asmo chuckles, following him amusedly.

Mammon stops in front of you and offers you his hand.

“Tsuki! I’m giving you the honor to dance with the Great Mammon!”

You stare at his hand, emotionless, and give Mammon exactly five seconds of hesitation just to mess up with him. Asmo snorts, trying hard to not laugh. Ah yes, still Ms. Popular. The next logical step is having a line of demons wanting to dance with you.

“Sure.” You take his hand and get off your chair. Dancing seems like a good way to relax anyway.

“Uh?” He looks so confused.

“What? Changed your mind?”

“N-never!” Mammon speaks more firmly.

“You ok?” Satan asks before you two can leave. He’s half joking, half being serious. You nod, and Satan smiles after a moment. “Don’t step on their foot, Mammon!” he says playfully.

“I wouldn’t do that!”

The avatar of greed guides you to the dance floor. He starts shyly, as if afraid of hurting you. His steps are also sloppy, making you ask if he even knows how to dance at all. Getting offended, Mammon sets on another pace and lets you guide him for a few tentative steps. It works and after a while you two can dance comfortably. Mammon jokes a lot, nervously. You are glad for it, it’s a good distraction. But he avoids looking at you, which makes him step on your feet twice. After the second time you growl angrily, waking Mammon up enough to get his shit together. You manage to dance with him for three consecutive songs before needing to stop to calm yourself after he almost steps on your toes again because he was looking dazedly at you.  _ ‘This was supposed to calm me down, not make me angry all over again, _ ’ you think, taking deep breaths.

You two move to get drinks while you wonder if you should just turn him down and tell him you only have the hots for Lucifer. A serious conversation needs to be had about how you only see and like him as a  _ friend _ and his crush can be such an inconvenience. Sadly, you are mostly sure he’ll just deny having such feelings for you, making you feel like you wasted your saliva.

As you try to move away, Satan appears in front of you. He’s smiling gently and he’s not in his demon form anymore for whatever reason. He’s perfectly tidy with a dark green suit and a yellow bowtie, and you must agree it looks a hundred times better than his busy and crazy demon form. He offers you his hand and asks you to dance with him. You can hear Mammon complain, but you ignore him, already letting Satan guide you back to the dance floor. Mammon had his turn; he should be satisfied.

Satan is a perfect gentleman on the outside and on the inside. His moves are light and perfect, as if he trained years waiting for this moment. You are worried if he also has a crush on you at this point. The avatar of wrath makes some small talk, comments on the castle decorations and funny stories about old parties they attended in the Demon King’s Castle. You laugh at some of them and feel your anger and anxiety fade away. Satan looks like he’s having a good time too, and you would hate to ruin it.

He spins you around and you two end up being a little too close after those moves.

“You know, I didn’t think Mammon would dance so well with you,” he speaks suddenly, his smile never leaving his face. “But now I know how he handled it so well. Want to take a guess?”

_ ‘Not really.’ _

“I don’t know. How?”

“Because you’re really a great dancer! You are very talented!”

You laugh shyly again.

“Flattery will get you nowhere, Satan,” you lie, feeling a blush rise on your cheeks. “But thank you.”

“You seem to be feeling better now, I’m glad,” he comments, “Do you need anything?”

“Not really, thank you for being a great friend.”

“Friend…” he whispers under his breath. Well, this isn’t looking so great now…

Keeping your relationship with Lucifer a secret wasn’t a very good idea in hindsight. When you talk again with the avatar of pride you should convince him to end the secret with his brothers.

Stopping the dance, you push away from Satan. He looks worried for a second but you reassure him you are tired and want to have a breath of fresh air in one of the balconies you saw earlier. Satan offers to go with you, but you insist on having some time alone. He still follows you a bit more, trying to change your mind, since the place is full with many demons.

“Don’t worry Satan, if someone tries anything, I’ll just scream.”

The avatar of wrath still looks worried, but lets you go alone. You make a quick stop by the bathroom before going to an empty balcony. The night is stunning at least. Not a single cloud in the sky and a bright moon and stars. The balcony gives you a glimpse of the castle’s garden. There are a lot of bushes of roses along a stone path under you. They are some crazy roses, all the petals are multicolored, with all the colors of the rainbow and they have a faint glow in the dark. It’s only the second floor, but it seems so high up. A waiter comes by and offers you some drinks. You grab a blue one that you think is non-alcoholic. Unfortunately, you are wrong. At least it is sweet and refreshing. You feel a cold breeze. It reminds you about being impatient and forgetting to buy a scarf.

Afraid the brothers will start worrying (and it is getting colder), you turn to leave, only to be surprised by Belphie coming your way. The fight or flight instincts are acting crazy already. He approaches you with a smile and stops beside you on the balcony. You look down at the garden again. This is the second floor, not a fatal fall, you can get off with some broken bones. Ah, wait no, you don’t need to  _ JUMP _ , idiot, you can simply use a pact power or two and yell for help. 

“Night, Tsuki. I was wondering if we can chat for a bit?”

“Sure?” you say, aware and without enthusiasm. It’s only the two of you and that has never happened before, there was  _ always _ someone else along. The fact that he is in his demon form is  _ not _ helping the anxiety. His cow demon outfit makes you feel sick. “Are you enjoying the party?” you ask in a hurry as an attempt to distract yourself.

“Eh, it’s fine. You go to a Diavolo party, you go to all,” he shrugs. “Are you having a good party? Didn’t have the best start for you, right?”

“Could be worse. Could be better. But I have calmed down.” No need to lie here. You  _ had _ calmed down, but now the stress is coming back all over again.

“I see. Hey, want to hear something very interesting?”  _ ‘Not really’ _ is already on the tip of your tongue. “Oh, come on, don’t look so dead.” ‘ _ EEEW.’ _ All the survival instincts kick in, you can feel the pact marks on your body burning, and you’re one second from running away as fast as possible. “Ah, sorry, my bad, my humor is a bit dark, please don’t take it to your heart. Anyway.”  _ ‘How come he changes moods so fast? How come I’m still here?’ _ “You should have seen the look on Lucifer’s face when you were dancing with Mammon and Satan. It was  _ priceless.” _

_ Wait _ , this is interesting. Your curiosity is picking up and you can feel yourself relax just a little.

“What look?” Belphie sure knows how to catch your attention.

“Ah, you didn’t see it? Too bad. He was mad with envy, almost looked like Levi while in one of his tantrums,” he giggles.

“No way.” You cannot believe it. There’s no way Lucifer was  _ jealous _ over you. This is impossible. His brothers being all jealous over you is expected but  _ Lucifer? _ He’s confident about pretty much everything. You’re dating, he has no reason to feel that way.

“Don’t worry, I took a photo.”

All your attention is on Belphie again. If this is another plot to kill you, you can’t even be angry, because it’s genius. He could lure you with his phone and stab you through the heart and your only thought would be something like ‘oh well, he outsmarted me, maybe I deserved to die.’

Belphie laughs at your eagerness. He takes his D.D.D. and after a few seconds of messing around, shows you the photo. It’s a bit blurry, but you can see Lucifer with an annoyed expression. This photo could have been taken at any time, he’s not necessarily angry at you dancing. As if he’s listening to your thoughts, Belphie swaps the photo. In the next one you can see Lucifer in profile a bit far away, looking at what can only be you even with the blurriness—your clothes are quite flashy and easily recognized. And on top of everything, you were dancing with Mammon.

“No way,” you repeat, shocked. Getting the D.D.D., you inspect the photos again. Has he always felt jealous over his brothers too? One of his excuses for not confessing to you sooner was because he thought you liked his brothers more than himself.

“I know right. I’d never seen him so jealous before.” Belphie laughs again and asks for his D.D.D. back. He puts the device back in his pocket. “Anyway, this isn’t what I wanted to talk about, I was just trying to break the ice. I thought about this a lot, and I want to make a pact with you.”

“Uh?” you grunt unintelligently. This has to be the most unexpected thing you’d heard the whole night. And the night has been long. “Why? I thought you didn’t have any interest in making pacts with humans?”

“Solomon told you that? Yeah, I didn’t. But I have reconsidered. You seem nice, and you already have a pact with five of my brothers. I don’t see you abusing the pact powers so I think you’re pretty good about that, right? Besides, if I ever do something you don’t like, you can just force me not to do it. Think of it as a trusting effort, for both of us.”

Belphie seems…really sincere. You think for a minute. He has a lot of good points. Having a pact with Belphegor would give you power over him… Yes, that’s exactly what you need to ease your anxiety about him. You can’t find a reason to turn him down, so you agree.

“Thanks, Belphie, it means a lot. I’m sure you must have thought about it carefully as well.”

“Pretty much,” he confirms. “So, where should I put the pact mark?”

Looks like the deal with Belphie is less about his sudden changes and more about his laid-back personality. He really isn’t the type to dwell on something for too long. He must have been very bored in that attic. 

“How about my left arm? Since Beel has his pact mark on my right arm.”

“So, would it mirror each other’s? Fantastic idea, Tsuki.”

The avatar of sloth really gets the grasp of things quickly. Satan did comment about the slothful demon being the third most intelligent, after only himself and Lucifer. Belphie holds your left arm and in no time you can feel the burning sensation of a million needles hitting your skin, making you hiss. The pain eases after a minute and starts to slowly disappear while you move the fabric of your glove away to peak at your new pact mark, a purple symbol of the avatar of sloth. Six sins have been acquired. The only one left is pride now. You sigh at the thought. Does Lucifer even make pacts with humans? It seems unlikely.

“Are you ok?” Belphie asks, curious.

“Yes, I don’t feel pain anymore.”

“Great. My job here is done,” he proudly says. “Should we go back? My brothers could be worried over you. You were alone on this balcony after all.”

“Yes, let’s go.”

Letting Belphie open the way to the table at the far corner, where half of his brothers are, you follow him from behind. But before you can get any closer, someone spins you around, hugging you from behind. His cologne is the only thing that didn’t kick your flight or fight response.

“Tsuki! I found you!” Belphie, noticing it’s just Asmo, shrugs and keeps his distance. He can see how Asmo is whispering in your ear. “So, so, tell me, how have things been with Lucifer so far? I must admit I was too distracted to take a look at…”

“Terrible.”

“Te… _ Terrible?! _ How so?!” Asmo yells in shock.

“No one told you?”

“Asmo has been on the dance floor rubbing himself against other demons the whole night,” Belphie deadpans.

“EW! Don’t touch me!” You push him away. Asmo steps back, still looking disturbed. 

“What happened?”

“Ah, just some heated discussion, nothing out of the ordinary.”

_ “What?!” _

“Well, I, uh,  _ he _ said something that made me a bit upset and then  _ I _ said something that made Lucifer a bit mad. And then we both kind of ran away.”

“I’m pretty sure Satan thought it was one of your infamous fights, and when you got to the table you were more than just a bit pissed off,” Belphie adds more  _ unnecessary _ details.

“Oh wow, thank you, Belphie, how could I ever forget?” you spit, annoyed.

“You’re welcome,” he smiles. The avatar of sloth  _ is _ a little shit, truly, he deserves the title of youngest brother because he is a  _ brat! _

Asmo is still looking horrified. After one more moment, he starts moving.

“That’s no good!” he yells. “This is… Alright, my dear, time for me to handle it.”

“What are you going to do?” You have a bad feeling about it.

“Don’t worry! Just trust me. You trust me, right?” You stare at him, worried. Urg, again, the trust issue... Unfortunately, Asmo looks decided. You sigh, not feeling like he’s going to listen to anything you say. Nodding, you agree. “Perfect! Wait for my signal at the table with the anti-socials.”

“What signal?” But he is already walking away, waving at you and winking.

You stare at the avatar of lust until he disappears on the dance floor. Out of other choices, you move to follow Belphie through the crowd of demons and back to the table.

“What was that about?”

“I have no idea, Belphie, and I’m afraid.”

“Well, good luck.”

“Thanks.”

Back at the table, you have the pleasant surprise to see the angels and Solomon hanging around the demon brothers. They tell you they were looking for you. Politely apologizing, you sit on a chair to give them some attention. The light conversation at the table helps you ease your nerves. Even Levi isn’t acting so awkwardly now, and he didn’t want to come as well. Belphie ends up sleeping in his chair. Beel is still eating, and Satan engages in a very specific conversation with Simeon. After a while, Mammon comes by too, and the avatar of greed bothers Levi so much the avatar of envy gets a game to play so he can ignore his older brother. You, Solomon, Luke and Mammon keep talking. Getting so distracted, you lose track of time.

When Asmo appears again he has this goofy smile on his face. He pulls you towards him, impatient, and you can only wave hurriedly at the demon brothers, the angels and Solomon. Asmo drags you around to another part of the castle where you have never been before.

“Don’t worry about anything, my dear, I made sure Lucifer leaves to take some fresh air by the lake! It’s the perfect place for some privacy. I’m sure it will take a long time before someone thinks of coming here!” Asmo speaks quickly and with confidence.

You are trying hard not to stumble on your own feet while keeping on with Asmo down a dark corridor. He suddenly stops before a big open door, and you can feel some cold breeze and see a lake in the distance. Asmo peaks behind the door and comes back giggling.

“He’s here! Now it’s your turn! Go make up with your boyfriend!” It almost feels like Asmo is more excited about you and Lucifer dating than you.

“Asmo, I don’t even know what to say…” You feel like you’re going to throw up again, knowing Lucifer is just ahead.

“Just a simple ‘thank you, Asmodeus, you are the best,’ will suffice,” he laughs.

You meant that you don’t know what to say to Lucifer, but maybe it’s for the best having Asmo misunderstand. You take a step forward, but the anxiety is making you physically incapable of moving. Asmo, noticing your hesitation, goes behind and starts to push you forward.

“Ok, ok, I’m going!” you say hurriedly. “But…why are you doing this?” Asmo stops, looking at you slightly confused. “Why are you helping me?”

“I think you and Lucifer both deserve happiness,” he smiles sweetly. That really warms your heart. “Besides, if you are together with one of my brothers, then you can be part of the family too!” Aw, this almost makes you cry. When did these demons even start liking you so much? Doesn’t matter, you are glad. It finally feels like you do have a family.

“Thanks, if this works out you can count on me for anything you need, and I  _ will _ be there for you,” you promise, very seriously. Asmo simply smiles, thanking you. You take a deep breath before stepping out of the castle.

The scenery is breathtaking. There's a big calm lake with a pine forest surrounding it, and a small pretty gazebo ahead. There’s also a fancy looking boat by the shore. Short orange lanterns illuminate the ground around the lake. Last time you came to the Castle of the Demon Lord there was a tour, but it was only inside the castle. You wonder why they didn’t include the lake on the tour. The nature looks untouched and the stars shine brightly on the vast sky, still without a single cloud to dim the light of the stars and the moon. On the lake’s surface you can see the reflection of the sky, almost making it seem like an extension of it.

You walk around, a bit lost in thoughts, over the stone path perfectly aligned on the ground. In making for the gazebo, you notice Lucifer standing near it, a glass of champagne in his hand. He looks lost in thoughts, eyes fixed on the lake. Lucifer is in his demon form again. The cold wind in his majestic wings makes the dark feathers move slightly. 

The gazebo is a small and circular building on the lakeshore. A few stairs give access to it, but there’s nothing inside, it’s simply a place to watch the scenery. The lights on the ground, which you thought were small lanterns, are actually flowers. The small and delicate flowers have bioluminescent petals, glowing in either orange or blue. You approach the demon, but decide not to bother him, since he hasn’t noticed you yet. Lucifer only turns around to meet you when you are already walking on the stairs to the gazebo. You hear a faint “Hm?” and turn to look at the demon, offering him a nervous smile, before resuming your walking. Stopping in the middle of the gazebo, you gaze at the serene lake. It feels so peaceful here. The bioluminescent flowers have grown over the structure of the building and illuminate the dark place, giving it a magical air. You wish you had brought the D.D.D. here to take some photos.

“What brings you here?” Lucifer asks softly, joining you in the gazebo. He takes calculated and slow steps.

“I wanted to have some fresh air. I’m tired.”

“You must be,” he agrees, leaving his empty glass on the gazebo’s fence. Your mind wonders if he means the dance or everything in general.

“It was a long night… What are you doing here?” you tentatively ask.

“Needed time to myself.”

Right, right. What did Asmo even do? Pester him?

“Your brothers haven’t caused any problems today,” you point out.

“Rare, right?” He shows you a smile, the first one ever since he laid a foot in this place. “I almost can’t believe it. Part of me is afraid I’m going back to a ballroom covered by fire.”

You laugh.

“I don’t think so! Have some faith in them!” You smile easily. His joke helped ease some of your creeping anxiety, but it isn’t going to last. Trying to think of something else to say, you fall silent. Asmo wants you to make up, but you still don’t know how. Well, at least Lucifer is not being passive aggressive or showing any sort of anger towards you, which is a big relief.

“How was your night?” Lucifer's voice scares you; you were not expecting him to start a conversation. You face him, curious. He keeps his gaze fixed ahead, so you can’t tell what may be going on his head. Is he worried? He surely looked envious of his brother when you danced with him. You need to think for a minute. The night was a roller coaster. But then, when was your life here ever easy? Never, the answer is never.

“Okay, I guess, your brothers cheered me up when I was feeling down, they are so nice to me now…”  _ ‘And sometimes I feel like I don’t deserve it.’ _ You don’t say it out loud, as Lucifer has told you to stop thinking you don’t deserve nice things.  _ ‘He’s right,’ _ you tell yourself. You sigh deeply, knowing you should talk about earlier. It’s now or never. “By the way, Lucifer, about earlier… Sorry if I upset you, it wasn’t my intention,” you sincerely apologize.

“I know,” he says after a beat of silence. His wings flicker, for a moment. Then, he sighs, with his eyes cast down. “I should apologize to you too. I realize I said something that brought you bad memories as well. Shouldn’t have complained about how you behaved yourself in front of Lord Diavolo in the first place. I feel like I caused some unnecessary discomfort between us.” He turns to look you in the eyes. “I’m sorry, Tsuki.”

You stare at his deep crimson irises for a minute. Only the wind in the trees creates some type of white noise. Lucifer is always so serious and polite when he apologies. It makes you happy he apologized as well, and realized you aren't the only one at fault. A big sense of relief covers you. Being able to fix any problem by having a civil conversation is one of the most basic things you want and expect from a relationship. You don't believe you can handle a relationship where there are always fights. The relationship your parents have has been always plagued with angry outbursts over small and meaningless stuff; and you want none of that for yourself and your partner. 

“It’s fine. I should have just said ‘yes, I trust you’ and ended that conversation.” A heavy sigh leaves your lips. “Thanks for being so understanding. And, I guess I owe you an explanation.” He raises an eyebrow. “About what I said, being betrayed and all.”

“You don’t need to talk about it.” He shakes his head, worry lines appearing on his face.

“No, it's fine,” you reassure him before starting your long and sad life story, giving him some insight of why you turned out to be like this. “When I was in high school, I had one friend. Just one. I had always been too introverted to socialize in my early years of school and it carried on. Never had many friends. But, during my second year in high school, I overheard a conversation and found out that one friend wasn’t  _ really _ my friend, they just felt pity because I was a loner.” The words felt bitter in your mouth. “So, I caused a scene, said a lot of things to their face and never talked to them ever again. Wouldn’t have been so bad if they hadn’t spread a lot of my secrets to their  _ real _ group of friends and made my life Hell.”

Both of Lucifer’s eyes widen with shock, but it quickly morphs into an angry expression. Under his breath, he complains about some humans being ‘so cruel.’ True. You wonder if Lucifer would obliterate them if you ask.

“I thought of them as a really close friend too, so after that I kind of locked myself out of any more friendships. It hurt a lot.” You sigh, holding your arms over your chest while looking at the ground. “Obviously, I changed schools after that, and had to spend my whole summer vacation convincing my parents since it was a good school and close to home, after all. After that, I had a few disappointments while in college, but nothing of that level.” You stop to sigh again and push those bad memories away. “And now, when I finally allowed myself to trust someone else again, two demons decide to live up to their name and  _ act _ like demons,” you spit, feeling angry again, raising your fierce eyes at Lucifer. “I never trusted Belphegor. The deal with him was more in the lines of I trusted all of you guys, so I thought he would be the same. That you had overreacted as usual. But I was terribly wrong, I really regret defying you and going up the stairs. I think that’s the biggest regret I carry with me now. I  _ swear _ I won’t go against your orders  _ ever _ again.”

You put a lot of emphasis on the words. Need to make sure Lucifer will get the points you're making. Lucifer simply keeps looking at you with a neutral expression. At least he isn’t saying ‘I told you so, stupid human.’ 

“Diavolo however…” you start but trail off right after, not knowing how to keep going without sounding incredibly bitter and furious. But it doesn’t matter, because Lucifer can get what you mean here, since he nods and doesn't ask for you to continue. Diavolo’s easygoing personality and smiles fooled you into trusting him, and legitimately thinking he was a nice guy. Now you aren’t so sure. Everything feels fake, like his mask cracked, allowing you to see a glimpse behind it.

“Thanks for telling me,” Lucifer takes two steps forward and puts a hand on your shoulder. He looks very sympathetic. “It must be hard to talk about such things. I understand if you decide to never forgive Belphie and Lord Diavolo. And I promise that’s the last time I’ll speak about this matter with you; I know you don’t like to contemplate past problems. I don’t like remembering about the past myself.” He looks away here and you  _ know _ he means the Celestial War. Even if he doesn’t regret it, this is still a touchy subject to the avatar of pride.

Your knees feel weak. Lucifer is being  _ so _ understanding. All you want is to rub your face into his clothes, cry out, and let him take care of you (‘ _ because I, obviously, can’t take care of myself’ _ ). You feel lighter, like a heavy burden has been lifted off your shoulders.

“’Forgive’ is a strong word.” You hold his hand on your shoulder and interlace your fingers. The red color of your gloves matches his. “It means to stop feeling angry or resentful towards someone or something, so it’s more on me than them. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive any of them, but I don’t plan to treat anyone coldly or angrily anymore. I want to move on and be able to leave a big part of this resentment, anger and fear behind. And also, I want no more trouble.”

Lucifer brings your hand to his lips and kisses it softly. He’s smiling at you. Under the glow of the flowers, the blue lights gives him an ethereal look, making Lucifer even more attractive. 

“If you need anything, I’ll be here to help you.”

_ Aaah _ , you’re too weak for this man. You walk, closing the distance between you and him, and letting your face hit his chest. Why must he be so tall? You hug him tightly and groan, trying to let out all your frustrations. Lucifer lets a hand rest at your back while the other toys with your hair. You stay like this for a while, listening to the calm beats of his heart. It gets a bit windier and you shiver, feeling cold. Lucifer notices and brings his wings closer to you, trying to cover your body.  _ So sweet _ . But now you feel naked again, both thanks to the cold and to this man, who only knows how to use many layers of clothing on a daily basis.

You bring your hands higher up his body, trying to reach his hair. Managing to grab at his lighter, almost white bangs, you pull.

“Luciii,” you call, weak, whining, “kiss me.”

And he complies, smiling. Bending over you, Lucifer lets you kiss him deeply and slow. Ignoring the possibility of being seen, you make out with Lucifer for what feels like a long time, slowly exploring each other’s mouths. The kisses start slow and gentle, but get hotter and needy. His hands dance on your back while yours stay on his chest, feeling him, before moving back to his hair and messing it. Wind continues to blow and you shiver again, so you dig your arms even deeper into his clothes.

When you pull away to breathe, feeling a bit flustered, Lucifer cups your cheeks. He has a smirk on his face.

“Do you want a coat?” His wings move away a bit, but are still pretty much all around you. You move your head down, staring at his fancy coat while catching your breath.

“I’m afraid I won’t fit me, though your coat is very cool.” It’s a lovely thought, nevertheless, and you do scan his clothes again. Lucifer has the most beautiful demon form. Many layers of clothing and a nice coat as usual. There are several details in the shape of golden peacock feathers and a huge diamond in the middle of his chest. Very regal, you like how fancy it is. “I want to go home, however.”

“I suppose it was a long night.” Agreeing, he lets his smile drop a little. “Say, doesn’t this form unsettle you?” You blink, tilting your head, making him frown. “I was under the impression you were afraid of my demon form.”

“Oh, no!” you say quickly. “I think it is really beautiful!” Lucifer’s eyes widen and then you realize what you just said. He’s smirking again. “Uh…I mean it.” You shake off your embarrassment. “Your demon form is really pretty, I love it. The real problem is you being very angry, not your form, to be honest. When you’re angry it gives me flashbacks of…that day.”

“Hmm.” Lucifer becomes pensive, and stays quiet for a moment. He assumes a serious expression before speaking again. “I understand.”

Well, you really didn't want to create this serious atmosphere now… Though you were being sincere. Your eyes end up traveling to his imposing wings. Ah, maybe this can clean the mood a bit.

“Can I…?” you stop, feeling way too embarrassed to ask what you’ve been wondering. Lucifer hums again, and he smiles, curiosity appearing in his features. When you don’t speak, he starts tapping your cheeks, urging you to continue. “Can I touch your wings?” The blood travels all to your cheeks and stays here, making them warm and red.

“Oh? Of course.”

He seems excited. Lucifer takes his hands off you and brings his wings closer again. You stare at the raven feathers. Remembering you are using gloves too today, you reluctantly take one off, feeling the cold air on your hand and arm immediately. You bring your hand to touch one long feather, tentatively. Feels just like a normal bird feather. Feeling bolder, you pass your hand over one of his left wings. It doesn’t feel out of the ordinary, just normal feathers and a strong bone structure. But still, it is a nice feeling, the feathers are firm and healthy. You always wondered why Lucifer is the only one with feathered wings. Does he even know why? 

When you see one of his peacock details, something comes to your mind: it would be hilarious if he just had peacock feathers. And a peacock tail. He would look even bigger (and scarier) with peacock plumage. Every time he got angry he would raise a ridiculous big peacock tail and scare everyone to death with his eyed plumage. What a walking nightmare that would be. You want to laugh about this ridiculous image but you press your lips together.

Murmuring a 'thank you,' you retrieve your hand from his wing. Lucifer is still watching you with a smile in the corner of his mouth. You imagine him as a half-peacock demon monster again and let out a loud snort.

“What?” he asks playfully, bringing you close and kissing your cheek.

“Nothing!”

Lucifer kisses you while you start laughing. When you notice, Lucifer has his lips on yours. In no time you are sharing passionate kisses with the avatar of pride again. You feel your body get warmer despite the cold air. Once again you wish to go home, but this time it’s not because you want to just leave the stupid party; what you want now is to be alone with Lucifer. And do  _ things _ with him.

This time, Lucifer is the one to pull away first, so you pull him closer  _ (‘Why is he so damn tall?’ _ ) and whisper in his ear, taking advantage of your boiling feelings.

“I want to sleep in your room today.”

“Alright,” he agrees easily.

“No…I mean,” you cough, feeling so much more embarrassed now. You thought he would get what you mean immediately… Was your tone not seductive enough? God, you're bad at it. “Sleep together, but like, without the sleep.”

Lucifer lets his mouth go agape upon realizing what you mean and pushes you away from his neck so he can look at you with a mix of incredulity and excitement. His hair is completely messed now, thanks to you. Looks perfectly hot.

“You’re sure?”

“Yes?”

“Is that a question?”

After stuttering and struggling with a series of yeses and noes, you take a deep breath to calm yourself.

“I am sure.” A proper answer this time. You have been thinking about it since earlier, to have some fun with Lucifer after the party, before that whole fiasco happened. This night has been a roller coaster, but luckily, no damage was made today (and no one tried to kill you!).

Lucifer's expression changes from shock to amusement. He passes a hand through his hair to put it back in place ( _ ‘nooo _ ’).

“In that case, we should leave. I would hate to make you wait.”

You feel your cheeks get even hotter.

“Before we leave, I want a dance,” you murmur, voice going lower and lower with each new word. That was another one of your plans for tonight, to spend it dancing with Lucifer and make a bunch of demons jealous of you. With your matching clothes, everyone will wonder if you are together. You may want to go home, but before that, you should be able to get the one dance you are desperately waiting for.

“Of course, I cannot deny a dance with such a great partner,” he says. His expression is filled with wonder and his words make you happy. You never thought all those years of dancing would be worth anything later in life. Now you’re glad for all the practices.

The avatar of pride wastes no time and guides you out of the gazebo and away from the lake while holding your hand. That’s how you enter the ballroom again, holding hands with Lucifer, him pushing away demons, making way for the center of the dance floor. You stand there, Lucifer holding your waist and your right hand, waiting. Waiting? Why is he waiting? Does he want you to  _ lead? _ You spend a few seconds only looking at him with a stupid expression on your face while your boyfriend only smiles lovelily at you. Is it because he saw you lead both Mammon and Satan when you danced with them earlier? Hesitating for one more moment, Lucifer shows no hint of wanting to move. Yep, he wants you to lead, and now you feel nervous.

Tentatively, you take one step forward and Lucifer follows. Unconsciously you tighten your hold on his hand and waist. One step backwards…  _ ‘How to dance?!’ _ You look at your feet without knowing what to do. Your brain is short circuiting with all this pressure.

“Why are you so nervous?” Lucifer chuckles under his breath. “You weren’t this nervous when you danced with Mammon.”

“Well, Mammon doesn’t  _ know _ how to dance!” you cry out, facing him again. You’re feeling like a nervous wreck, legs heavy and trembling, hands sweating.

“I won’t judge you if you misstep.”

“I will  _ not _ misstep.” Your defense mechanism activated by itself, making Lucifer chuckle again.

_ ‘Ok. Deep breaths. Maybe try to not feel so pressured. Don’t panic, you know what to do.’ _ You take a few deep breaths. The pace continues slowly, barely matching the music, and a bit stiff for a few moments. When you start to feel more confident, you stop looking only at the ground. Looking back at Lucifer, your body seems to remember how to handle itself. Lucifer tells you soft praises  _ (‘See, you know what to do’ _ ) and you gain even more confidence. Has he ever let someone else lead him in a dance before? If not, that makes you special. The thought fills you with happiness. You two dance until the dance floor starts to empty.


	18. Cirice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> spicy time B)
> 
> In a pursue to write a realistic sex scene I made it so awkward i'm honestly not sure how I even was able to write it in the first place. It is very awkward even for me. Anyway. One more chapter to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cirice by Ghost  
> “Can you hear the thunder? How can you hear the thunder that's breaking? Now there is nothing between us. From now our merge is eternal. Can't you see that you're lost? Can't you see that you're lost without me? I can feel the thunder that's breaking in your heart. I can see through the scars inside you.”

**Chapter 14 – Cirice**

It’s already late when everyone is back at the House of Lamentation. The dance lingered for a bit, but now your dancing wishes are satisfied. Lucifer made everyone go to bed upon arriving at home, claiming to be tired. His brothers didn’t pull any stunts and just went to their respective rooms to rest. After making sure everyone was in their respective rooms, the avatar of pride went to go get you at your room.

When you step into Lucifer’s room, your mind starts thinking a million things at record speed.  _ ‘Why did I agree to do this? Is he going to be gentle? Rough? Will he want to try kinks? Is a demon penis just like human ones?’ _

Sensing your anxious state, Lucifer spins you around and kisses you. He had just locked the door, for extra privacy. The demon gives you a series of kisses until you are begging to breathe. When he pushes away you are left panting and with a blank mind. He guides you to his bed and sits you there.

“Relax,” he starts. “We will talk about everything, I don’t plan to do anything you don’t want to.”

“That’s good!” Your voice sounds a bit high pitched. Lucifer keeps his serious eyes on you. He has reverted back to human form since you have come back home. “I’m still sure about it,” you tell him, more seriously.

“Hmm. How about I keep kissing you until you relax?” he smirks.

Worth a shot. Nodding, Lucifer sits beside you on the bed, then slowly pins you under him. Your heart is beating fast with anticipation before he even gets to kiss you again. Lucifer takes it slow, kissing your face and your lips without any rush. He lets one hand travel the side of your body while the other supports his weight. You are pretty much lost in thoughts when Lucifer moves away, his two hands now supporting him on both sides of your body. The eyes of the avatar of pride are dark with lust while he looks intensely at you.

“So, kitten, what have you planned for this? Should I start by undressing you?” Lucifer says. Even his words are covered with desire.

“I… Ki… _ Kitten _ ?” The confusion you’re feeling is unreal. Did he really say that?

“Well, you are small and cute but also have sharp fangs and claws.”

_ ‘Whaaaat? Is it a pet name?!’  _ You expected ‘kitten’ from Satan, maybe they aren’t so different after all. Though unexpected, the pet name could be worse.

“I am not small, you tall monster.” Lucifer chuckles.

“Is that how you wish to call me in bed?”

“No,  _ bastard _ . _ ” _ He laughs this time.

“You are the only one who talks to me like this, you know that?”

“Truly a shame.”

He bends forwards and bites your neck, but not strong enough to leave a mark, more like a playful bite. You squirm around but he doesn’t attempt to bite you any further.

“It seems like you are way more relaxed now, right, kitten?”

“Kitten,” you repeat. It doesn’t  _ anger _ you but it sure feels weird to be called this.

“There are many other endearments that I could call—”

“ _ Actually _ ,” you bring a hand to cover your boyfriend’s mouth and shut him, “I don’t mind ‘kitten’.”

Lucifer smiles and licks your hand. You yell and retract your hand from him, cleaning it on the bed sheets. The demon gets close and takes a hand to your back. It travels there for a moment before resting on your dress's zipper. His hand stays there while he makes eye contact, silently waiting for permission. Only after you nod, looking at Lucifer, does he open the zipper. The fabric falls a little from your shoulders. Meanwhile, Lucifer’s other hand has taken off one of your gloves. Part of you wanted to keep using them only to spite him, but you do want to be able to feel his skin under your fingers. He stops for a moment, looking at your exposed chest, before taking off the other glove and kissing your now bare arm. He pulls the dress, slowly showing him more skin. You look away, feeling embarrassed. Keeping your eyes fixed on a painting on the other side of the room, you let Lucifer keep undressing you the way he wants to.

“You made a pact with Belphegor?” Lucifer says, stopping all at once.

“Uh?!” Your head snaps back at him. Lucifer is holding your arm and staring at the purple pact mark of the avatar of sloth. It was  _ right _ where he just kissed you too. Now you realize all the pact marks must be visible. You can see Beel’s and Mammon’s marks on your other arm. “Ah, yes, it was today—”

“When?” He’s completely focused on this matter now. Who knew it was so hard to get fucked?

“It was at the party… He came to meet me to talk when I was at one of the balconies, after dancing with Satan.”

“Alone?” It’s not obvious, but he’s worried.

“Yes, but he was being nice,” you reassure him. “The pact was his idea too, so I ‘could stop him if he does something I don’t like,’ his words. Couldn’t find a reason to turn him down, so. I have a new pact now. Yay.” You smile, though it's graceless, to ease his tense mood. You fail, however. The eldest demon keeps looking shocked at you for a whole minute. When he seems to get over it, he sighs, closing his eyes.

“I see. Can’t say it’s a bad idea… Guess I should congratulate you, for successfully making pacts with all my brothers. I swear to you, this has never happened before.” For some reason he sounds very bitter. Reluctant, even. A somewhat sad smile is on his face.

“Are you jealous?” you can’t stop yourself from asking.

“Why would I be?” He shows you a cocky smile now, tilting his head towards you. “The only one who gets to fuck you is  _ me _ .” This smug bastard has no right to make you blush and horny by saying such words. “So, are you going to try to convince me to make a pact with you too, Tsuki?”

This time you don’t give him an immediate answer. To be honest, you don’t know  _ how _ he didn’t offer you a pact months ago, seeing how he’s so obsessed in keeping you safe. The only thing that you can think of is that his pride doesn’t allow him to make a pact with lowly humans. It wouldn’t be shocking if you find he never made a pact with a human before. You spend some time to think of a good enough reply that would piss him off  _ just a little. _

“Why should I?” You mirror his previous answer, smiling like a brat. “I already have six very powerful demons at my will and I am going to be fucked by you, can’t ask for anything else.”

Either your own smug smile or your words bothers Lucifer enough to earn a growl from him. It’s kind of hot. His low growl seems to resonate with you and send a shiver down your body. The avatar of pride arbitrarily decides that’s enough talk and pulls down your dress in one go, throwing it at the ground without care. You let out a short yell in surprise. Now you feel so exposed like this, only in your underwear, stockings and shoes. Lucifer moves away and traces his hands along your left leg. He starts pulling away one sock, painfully slow, but then he stops, looking at it, and decides to leave the stocking on. He reaches your heel and takes it off to the ground as well. Then he does the same thing to the other leg, removing your other heel. When he’s done, his hand flies to the bar of your underwear. You curse, loudly, and almost sit up in reflex, feeling your heart beating way too fast. Lucifer stops his fingers for a moment, hesitating.

“Thought you would be using something special here.” He plays with the cloth, teasing to pull it off. His words are light, playful even.

“Sorry to disappoint,” you murmur, getting very anxious again. You’re starting to get hyper conscious of how much you are sweating and trembling already. The anticipation may actually give you a heart attack. “T…” you try to speak but your voice decreases to an almost inaudible level.

“What did you say?” Lucifer tears his eyes off the underwear to look at you. He stops his teasing, waiting.

“Ta…Take your clothes off too…” you whisper, having trouble finding your own voice. Your cheeks feel very hot. In fact, your whole body is burning with embarrassment.

“Ah, the kitten is feeling embarrassed for being the only one mostly naked. I’ll fix it.”

‘ _ Why must he act so damn cocky?!’ _ You don’t even have time to be angry, however, because he puts on a show. Lucifer starts by pulling off his tie and letting it hang loose around his neck. Then he starts unbuttoning his jacket and waistcoat. Very, very, slow. Button by button. You can’t tear your eyes off this free strip tease sample. Your boyfriend discards his clothes on the ground as well, piece after piece. After the suit jacket and waistcoat are out of the way, he takes off the tie, then starts working on his shirt. ‘ _ Why does this man wear so many layers of clothing?!’ _ You whine, this is taking so LONG! There’s something forming in the bottom of your belly and your underwear starts feeling wet. Finally, the avatar of pride takes off his shirt, exposing his toned and flawless chest. He is as ripped as his brothers and you can’t help but stare.

“Like what you see, kitten?”

For some reason, you feel like you only processed his words a long time after he said them. But your throat feels blocked, unable to speak, so you keep quiet, still staring at your boyfriend’s body. Lucifer lets out a low chuckle before opening his belt and unzipping his pants. The sounds snap you back to reality. This is very much happening, it’s not a dream or a fantasia.

Lucifer smirks and bites a glove, taking it off with his teeth. So unnecessary but  _ damn, that is hot _ . He repeats the same ritual with his other glove and pulls his pants down, kicking off his shoes. Now he is as naked as you. And has a huge bulge in his boxers.  _ ‘Aw, fuck. _ ' You let out a breath when you catch sight of it.  _ ‘This is happening,’ _ you tell yourself again. The demon is starting to tower over you again. He brings a hand to caress your right leg before pulling you towards him. You let out a surprised yell while Lucifer hits his bulge between your legs, making you feel how  _ hard _ he is. Hard for you.

“Oh my, someone’s wet, and I barely touched you. What a naughty kitten,” he comments, voice low with desire. His hands are touching your thighs now, sending shivers over your body. Lucifer bends a bit over you, his hard cock pressing even more on your groin. You can only feel yourself trembling, sweating, and your heart beating like crazy. “Tsuki, answer me seriously now.” His tone of voice changes to a more serious one void of his previous sex innuendos. Slowly you focus on his face, meeting a very serious expression there too. “I need you to tell me how you want it.”

Your throat still feels tight. There are many emotions boiling inside of your body and it’s starting to become hard to focus. But you need to give him an answer, he wants it to be pleasurable for you too.

“Can…can you be gentle?”

“Of course, my love,” he says without missing a beat. “I will prepare you nicely so it won’t hurt and take it easy and slow until you’re good.”

“O-ok…” you shy away. Can this just be over? The real thing didn’t even start and you want it to be over so you can cuddle and sleep. This anxiety is killing you, now you’re regretting your impatience. It didn’t have to be  _ today _ (‘ _ It would be kind of fucked up if I slept with Lucifer on Diavolo's birthday, right? LMAO I should totally do it!’— _ words from two days ago that now plague your memory).

“Are you  _ sure _ you want it? We don’t need to go all the way,” Lucifer insists, being very serious yet again. You only nod while maintaining eye contact. You got this far, may as well just do it. Are you being too nervous? Don’t people usually act nervously for the first time? Maybe not this nervous… You feel more sick than horny. Still, you have gone so far, you can do it. Being anxious and prideful is such a bad match up, it only means you bring unnecessary suffering upon yourself. Lucifer is being so patient too, the last thing you want is to make him mad. If you just keep not talking, he will never get mad, right? However, the demon still looks uncertainly at you. “Maybe it would be better to have a safe word. I’ll stop when you say it,” he suggests after another moment.

A safe word? This isn’t a bad idea. It does reassure you.

“Y-You’re right,” you say after a few seconds of considering it. “Like, Mammon?”

Lucifer grimaces,  _ disgusted _ .

“ _ Why _ , Mammon?” he scorns loudly, rolling his eyes so hard. Congratulations Tsuki, you officially killed the mood.

“Well, you would definitely stop when hearing 'Mammon'.” You give him a nervous laugh, but he is still looking incredibly averse to it.

“I swear I’ll stop, just  _ please _ , pick any other word that isn’t a name.”

Ok, you teased him enough. You go pensive for a minute; there are so many words to pick. Like purple or cake.

“Dragons?”

“That works,” he says, apathetic.

“It isn’t something you would hear during sex,” you defend your pick, “unless you’re having sex  _ with _ a dragon, I think.” You get lost in thoughts for a minute, thinking about how  _ cool _ it would be to have sex with a dragon. Wait, forget about sex,  _ being _ a dragon, that’s the real cool stuff.

When you feel someone poking your cheeks, you snap your back to Lucifer.

“Devildom to Tsuki, get back to reality.” He pinches you again, and you push his hand off your face. That hurts. “What were you even thinking about?” There’s a hint of annoyance in his tone.

“Dragons…”

He rolls his eyes again.

“At least you’re relaxed, I suppose.”

The demon climbs over you to his nightstand. He fumbles there for a few seconds and comes back to the bed with a bottle of lube. You eye it for a second, and Lucifer shows you a smirk. Quickly you take your eyes off him. They travel the room until they stop at his gramophone. ‘ _ Keep calm, keep calm… _ ’

Your last piece of clothing is removed and you immediately feel cold and way too exposed. Lucifer is set again between your legs and you can hear the bottle being opened. The demon works slowly on your hole, wetting it with lube and playing with his fingers. One, then two, preparing you nicely. You grip at the bed sheets and the pillows under you, just so you have something to hold on.

You feel like a long time has already passed when Lucifer adds a third finger. First you yell at the sudden intrusion, then you moan as you get used to the feeling. After a couple lewd moans escape your lips, you bring a hand to cover your mouth. When the sensation is no longer uncomfortable you decide it’s time to move on.

“Lucifer…” you breathily say, “enough.”

“Hmm? Do you think you’re ready?” He never stops moving his fingers deep inside of you.

“I…  _ Aah _ … Yes, just,  _ urg _ . Fuck me already…”

The demon hums. He keeps going for a while longer and does something that takes you by surprise, making you moan lewdly and shamelessly, the sensation so good it almost makes you come. You can hear Lucifer humming happily, now knowing he found a sweet spot inside of you. He retracts his fingers and you whine, feeling the cold air in your soaked hole. Lucifer proceeds to take off his underwear and strokes himself with his wet hand. You rise up a little to see it, curious, and the vision makes you gasp.

“Lu…” you cough, after choking on nothing but air. “It's…not gonna fit…” you whine.

“It will fit,” he says simply. When he thinks his dick is already slick enough, he moves on top of you again. You fall back into the bed; the safe word is already on the tip of your tongue and his penis is nowhere close to you. “Kitten, calm down, you need to relax or it may hurt,” he says gently.

Feeling like you cannot move, you keep still, staring anxiously over Lucifer’s every move. Your lover sighs before bending and kissing you on the lips. You want to protest, but you just melt into his touch immediately. Lucifer tries to kiss you slowly, but you’re the hungry one now, kissing him impatiently, clinging to his shoulders and neck, feeling his perfect skin under your hands. He simply lets you have your way, touching and making out like there’s no tomorrow. Anything to ease those nervous feelings.

Needing to breathe, you push off only a bit, still holding him closely, and after breathing for a moment, you start kissing his skin, desperate to cling to something, to ease and distract your mind. Lucifer takes advantage of your distraction and inserts the tip of his dick into you. Gasping, you stop everything you’re doing to feel how he drags his cock in and out in a very slow manner. Stretching your entrance. It doesn’t hurt, but feels so weird and mildly uncomfortable.

“I’m going to slide in more now, kitten,” he says, kissing your forehead, one hand playing with your head.  _ ‘Distractions, distractions _ . _ ’ _

You look at him and hold yourself into Lucifer again, letting your arms rest on his back. He’s holding one of your legs—for better access, you believe— and the other rests on top of his leg. It’s sudden when you feel him invading you.

“Aaah!” you yell, louder this time, and your nails scratch Lucifer’s back. You can hear a short hiss. You’re feeling full. The sensation is so new that you can’t tell if it’s hurting not, you only feel dazed.

“Relax, you’re… _ ah _ , so tight,” the avatar of pride tries to say, but he has to stop to moan. Tentatively he tries to move, only for you to squirm and moan again. “Let me move a little, Tsuki, so I can put everything inside in a few…”

“Wait,  _ THIS IS NOT ALL?!” _

You scream at his face, making Lucifer grimace at the loud sound of your voice. You are already feeling so full,  _ what does he mean “so I can put everything”?! _ You try to move around just to see how much of him is actually inside of you, but you stop both because you feel a sparkle of pleasure and because Lucifer stops you from squirming any longer by putting a hand on your chest. Pinned back on the bed.

“Stay. Put,” he growls. “More than half is inside of you.”  _ ‘This isn’t reassuring at all!’ _ “Just lay back and relax.” It’s almost like he’s ordering you. He’s always ordering everyone around so he pretty much only speaks this way now.

Not attempting to move for a minute seems to please Lucifer. You also try to catch a breath. You see him smile, then, ever so slowly, he starts moving his cock. After a few minutes, he thrusts more forcefully and the sensation inside of you gets more intense. Lucifer moans shamelessly. Everything must be inside of you now.

Once again you bring a hand to cover your mouth. His slow thrusts aren’t doing much for you, and he seems to notice it, because, in the next minute, he’s touching your forgotten sex. A loud moan escapes you as a wave of pleasure washes over, almost making you come. Lucifer chuckles. You bet he’s looking all smug. He keeps on both thrusting and rubbing your parts.

You can feel yourself close to your climax when Lucifer suddenly stops his hand. Before you can complain, however, he takes both your legs and puts them over his shoulders. In a quick movement, he takes out his cock and shoves it back inside right after. A loud scream echoes through the dark room, so loud you don’t know how Lucifer didn’t cover your mouth, afraid of you waking up the whole house. The demon is moaning again, his eyes are closed, focusing on the sensation. Sweaty and with his messed hair, he looks  _ divine _ naked above you. Truly, one of Heaven’s most beautiful angels.

“So tight, it feels so good,” he says breathlessly.

You are panting now, he’s so big. It feels a bit uncomfortable again.  _ You were wrong, he only put his whole damn dick inside of you now. _ The avatar of pride lowers himself more and kisses your cheeks and caresses your face, always very gentle. He tells you he’s going to move now. Even though you still feel pretty dazed, with a bit of focus, you remember the safe word. You can just drop it whenever it gets too intense or too painful. Half of you is tempted to just use it  _ now _ . The slow thrusts of the demon are back and,  _ hot damn _ , it doesn’t feel so bad now. Your wrists are starting to bother you, white and cold while gripping the bed sheets.

Slowly, it starts getting more enjoyable, his dick sliding in and out without much resistance from your walls, and his trusts are becoming quicker. Lucifer has started playing with your nipples; he sucks one, and you have to open your mouth to moan, feeling the pleasure run through your whole body. He has the other nipple between his fingers, rubbing it. Grabbing his hair, your hands mess with the soft and damp strands again and they find…horns? Opening your eyes and looking at the demon above, you see the pair of horns, then feel a soft breeze caused by the flap of his dark wings. Ah, so, he’s that excited? At least it’s good to know he’s enjoying it so much.

“Mine,” the demon breathes above you, leaving a streak of kisses from your chest to your neck. “You’re  _ mine _ , you know that, right?”

Would have begged to differ if you were in your right mind, but for now, you let it slide. Also, because,  _ damn _ , his demon form is so hot too. Can’t help but stare, awestruck, at this gorgeous creature on top of you. Would have grabbed his wing if they were any closer.

A hot feeling is accumulated in the lower part of your abdomen, and it’s starting to bother you with the wish to cum.

“Lucifer…!” You are going to ask for it, can’t last too long like this, it’s starting to become painful. “Luciii…”

“Yes, kitten?” He’s at your ear in a second, kissing and biting the skin here. You feel another wave of pleasure when he bites just the right spot, below your ear, and you moan lewdly. “Oh, another place to remember.”

“Lucifer!” you complain, almost screaming. “I want to come.”

“Do you?” he hums. “Beg for it.”

_ ‘Who the fuck does he thinks he is? I’m not going to fucking beg,' _ you think in a moment of lucidity. First he says you belong to him and now he wants you to beg?! But you want  _ so much _ to just orgasm already. Can you come from his dick alone? Not sure. Moaning more discreetly for another minute, you try to focus on Lucifer pounding his dick in you. It’s not bad but you want instant satisfaction. Now.

“Please…” your voice cracks when you are hit  _ on that sweet spot. _

“Beg a little harder, kitten,” he kisses your tears, wins flapping excitedly behind him. Ah, you’re tearing up from all the overwhelming sensations and the orgasm denial. It’s starting to feel frustrating.

“Curse you, Luci— _ Aah _ !” That spot again. He’s doing it on purpose. And he dared say he was going to do only what  _ you _ wanted today. What a sadist. A sadist and a liar.

You are pretty sure all you need is a hand to rub you to make you come instantly. Why beg for him anyway? You have a perfectly good pair of hands right here. But when you try to move your hands, the devil acts quicker, holding both of your hands above your head in a fluid movement.

“I told you to beg.”

That sadist! Between the tears you can see part of his dark eyes. His pupils are huge and the demon has a smirk that never waves off his face. He’s enjoying it, so much. You want to curse him and call him names, but nothing feels more important now than your release. It’s either humiliation or endure it for a while longer.

“Please…” you start again, after a moment, saying goodbye to your dignity and blinking the tears away. “Pleeease, Lucifer…let me cum… I…I have been a good kitten… Meow.”

The growl that you hear can only be interpreted as animalistic. It matches his lustful expression. The hand that is keeping you in place, on your waist, moves to between your legs. Lucifer rubs you and in about four seconds you orgasm, seeing stars. After being denied for so long it feels like the  _ best _ orgasm you ever had. Your inner walls get tighter around his dick, creating another layer of pleasure for you to feel. Lucifer moans at the same time as you, only lower.

_ “Fuck _ , so tight.”

He tries to thrust deep again after a minute of letting you feel your orgasm all over, but your insides feel so sensitive thanks to being post orgasm that you let out the loudest scream of tonight. It makes him stop. You’re still trembling with the aftermath of your climax when you feel Lucifer take his dick out. Confused, you open your eyes and are met with the sight of Lucifer jerking off over you. He comes too not too long after pulling out, with a mix of a moan and a growl under his breath. Even his wings are trembling with the pleasure. His semen dirties the sheets and your belly. It  _ is _ quite the sight, you need to admit, his cock still half hard and covered in a white liquid while he looks like pure bliss. Wouldn’t mind dreaming about Lucifer jerking off over your limp and tired body, a thousand times more pleasant than dreaming about being killed for sure.

Panting, Lucifer sighs, satisfied, and reverts back to his human form. Dropping your legs onto the bed, he moves to lie besides you. You two stay quiet and still for a long time, just breathing. Now that you can relax, you feel wet and gross, but too tired to go take a shower just yet. Lucifer suddenly starts laughing besides you and you look at him mildly confused. What would have made him  _ laugh? _

“I didn’t expect you to be so vocal,” he explains, covering his mouth. The demon has an affectionate smile while he looks at you. Well, you did scream a lot more than him. Lucifer was mostly quiet.

“Me neither,” you deadpan. “Do you think everyone listened to it…?” Your stomach does a flip with the mental image of all the demon brothers with their pillows over their heads, desperately trying not to listen to you and Lucifer having sex.

“Worry not,” the demon briefly laughs again. “I put a spell on the room after locking it so no one heard a thing.”

“Really?” This simultaneously surprises you and makes you calmer. So, you didn’t wake up the whole house, that’s good.

“What did you think of it? The sex,” Lucifer asks.

_ ‘Ah shit, I knew he was going to ask that.’ _

“It was…better than expected.”

“I know I’m good at it,” he winks and you roll your eyes.

“You’re sounding like Asmo.”

The avatar of pride doesn’t seem to mind the comparison, he shrugs and comes closer, embracing you.

“Can I interest you in another round?” He kisses your lips.

“No,” the answer comes immediately.

“You are no fun, kitten.”

Despite your initial decline, once the next making out session starts getting hot and Lucifer insists once again  _ (‘Looking at the good side, that means he liked it as well’ _ ), you end up agreeing to another round, since you are prepared and all.

In the dead of the night, when you are beyond tired, Lucifer carries you to the bathroom and cleans you up. You feel as slack as a sack of potatoes, half sleeping the whole time, exhausted. The avatar of pride changes the bed sheets before putting you back there. You fall asleep pretty much instantly, resting beside Lucifer’s chest. 

“Uurg…”

You moan right after waking up. When trying to move, everything suddenly starts hurting like hell. Stopping at once, you just breathe and groan.

“Tsuki?” Lucifer’s sleepy voice calls you. Seems like you just woke him up as well. “Are you feeling well?”

“My back hurts.” Especially the lower back.

“It does?” He makes a small pause; part of him must still be sleeping. “Oh right, you’re a human.”

“You  _ forget?” _

“It’s honestly not that hard.”

He’s calling you a demon! Not too wrong.

You two stay in bed for a while. Lucifer pets your head and you nuzzle his chest and neck, smelling his scent. Both too tired and lazy to try anything else besides soft touches. Some time passes and Lucifer finally decides to stand up first and check the time. You feel like you didn’t sleep a lot last night. Wouldn’t mind sleeping here the whole day. The demon walks around the room, very much  _ naked _ . You feel forced to look away, to one of the fancy golden chandeliers on the ceiling.

“Want to take a bath together, kitten?”

_ ‘Bath? Together?’ _

“Tempting,” you murmur. Is that a hint for shower sex? You don’t really feel like doing it in the shower, even if you weren’t feeling so much back pain. Wait, doesn’t he have a bathtub? That would be exciting. “Can we use the bathtub?”

“Now who’s the one who is sounding like Asmo?”

“Is that a  _ joke?” _

“Stop.”

“Ok.”

Better shut up before making him mad. You hear the demon pacing the room for a minute.

“Want to go ahead then?”

Though you want to stay in bed for the whole day, a bath does sound good. A bath  _ with Lucifer _ too. Who knows when another chance like this will appear again?

“I changed my mind, let's take a bath together.” You turn on the bed and  _ he’s still naked? _ You blush and close your eyes. This is way too embarrassing and he’s acting just like normal! Lucifer has no shame! “Bring me a towel, please.” You are naked too but want to preserve your dignity.

“Tsuki, we literally had sex yesterday.” Lucifer reminds you.

“And? I asked for a  _ towel,” _ you repeat, annoyed.

“Are all humans like you?” he complains under his breath, pacing across the room again. You hear a wardrobe being open.

“No, you hit the jackpot, the  _ cursed _ one, and got the worst kind of human: a sick and annoying one to make your life an even worse Hell.” You feel a clean towel fall directly in your face. Big and fluffy. “Hey!” You open your eyes again to look at Lucifer. His face is an awkward mix of annoyance and amusement.

“I’m afraid I can’t disagree.” He’s trying not to laugh, but his lips just twitched. The avatar of pride throws a silk robe over his shoulders but it’s wide open in the front. Some decency at least (even with his whole dick out).

Lucifer goes ahead and prepares the shower. Even his bathroom is so elegant and tidy. The white and golden décor confuses your sleepy eyes, and you almost walk into a wall. So damn bright. Ideally, you would let Lucifer clean you up while in the shower. (No bathtub, he made some ridiculous excuse like “we will just waste the whole day here.” Like, he’s right, but that doesn’t make it any less infuriating.) Instead of a romantic shower together, you get self-conscious and clean yourself without any help, facing the wall, instead of your boyfriend, like the anxious mess you are. Just standard taking a shower, with another person here because this whole bathroom and shower is just so  _ big _ .

When you’re done, and you spare a look at Lucifer, you notice something on his back. He couldn’t possibly have a tattoo, right? Wait, if he has a tattoo that would explain why he hides his skin so much at all times. You must see it now. Moving a little, you get a better look at his back, then you gasp. There are a few lines on his back, six—you count— _ scars _ . Two longer ones, at the top until the middle of his back, and four smaller ones; they have the same color of his skin tone and are completely healed.  _ Very _ old scars.

“What happened to your back?”

Lucifer tenses, going completely still. You had asked before thinking twice, before thinking that  _ maybe _ that’s the reason no one ever sees him shirtless. Still, how does he even  _ have  _ scars? Aren’t demons supposed to have some magical fast healing? The avatar of pride looks at you, his expression a mix of surprise and helplessness. His mouth is open but he remains silent.  _ ‘Oh god, I shouldn’t have asked!’ _

“Sorry! Please, forget I said anything!”

When the demon finally moves out of his inertia, he shakes his head, slightly, and closes the water.

“No need to apologize, I…” he says while facing the wall, looking conflicted. “Come.”

He turns in a second and gets out of the shower, grabs his towel and hands over yours. You dry yourself in silence. Because the demon goes out ahead you have another glimpse of the scars. They are uncomfortably close to the place where his demon wings come from. This is obviously a touchy subject for Lucifer, and you are already regretting asking about it so much.

After leaving the shower you just sit on the tip of the bed with a towel on your head while covered in another one, staring at your fancy clothes piled up on top of the couch. Lucifer has put on another—rather extravagant—striped silk robe. You are pretty sure you saw different robes like that before. Tentatively you ask for a robe too, however you are certain it will be too large and long on your body. Lucifer goes to his wardrobe and gets a black robe for you, then adds some magic to it. When you put it on, it’s the perfect size. This silk robe feels so nice against your skin, so soft and cool, you really want to keep it. Only for a few days. You can claim you ‘forgot’ to return it until Lucifer questions you about it. It’s not like  _ stealing _ , you plan to give it back. Eventually.

“The scars…” Lucifer starts again, staring at the ground with a downcast expression.

“You really don’t need to tell me anything, Lucifer! It’s ok! I get it if it’s too hard to talk about.”

He sighs and raises his head to look at you.

“It’s fine, Tsuki, I see no problem in telling you this. Especially since I don’t think you would talk about them to the others if I ask, right?” Do…his brothers _not_ _know?_ You remain silent and nod, agreeing to his words. “They are from the Celestial War.” Well, that’s pretty much a given. Lucifer looks to the side, his sad expression never changing. “When I realized I was fighting a lost battle, and that my brothers and sisters were all hurt…I started feeling so helpless and _angry_ that I cut my wings off, rejecting my identity as an angel.”

You need a moment to process this new information. There are six scars…

“Wait. You cut off…all  _ six _ of them?!”

“Yes, all six of my pristine white wings. After this last rebellious act, I was very unkindly banished and thrown in Hell.” He crosses his arms, sour. “…It was when we were cast down that an arrow pierced Lilith’s wing.”

_ ‘Aaah.’ _ So many things make sense now. Lilith, falling, was pierced by an arrow. Beel had shielded Belphie, but Lilith, who was further away, was injured. She must have been the only one in the most critical condition, and her fall would have left her half-dead on the ground. Otherwise she could just have become a demon too. Lucifer was the first one to find her and made a deal with Diavolo so his sister could live happily with the man she loved. And the stupid demon had to hide everything from his brothers.

Still, you keep staring at Lucifer with an astonished expression. In what kind of mad rage, due to having his pride  _ crushed _ , must one be in to cut off six limbs?! That’s madness. What kind of pain must that create?!

“You look amazed,” Lucifer notices.

“Who wouldn’t be, really…” You look down, unsure of what to say. “Kind of a stupid question, but how much did it hurt?”

“The pain was  _ unbearable _ . I still remember it vividly,” he answers seriously. “Though, I remember everything from that day very vividly.”

“And what about your dark wings?”

“They grew when I became a demon.”

“And it hurt?”

“I’m pretty sure the change from an angel to a demon hurts, but, being honest, I was already in too much pain to notice.”

Times like this, you are really unsure on how to behave. The only thing that comes to your mind is to say ‘sorry,’ but knowing Lucifer, he would dismiss it and say there’s nothing you can do about it. The best thing to do seems to be remain quiet and nod. No wonder Lucifer turned out like this. Yesterday he said ‘we both have scars’; in his case, both in the metaphoric and literal sense.

“Thanks for telling me.” That’s the best you can come with.

The demon nods. His D.D.D. buzzes and he takes a look at it, but ignores whatever message he got.

“Just keep quiet about the scars,” he reminds you.

“Do you hate them?”

He goes quiet for a moment.

“It isn’t like I am  _ ashamed _ of them, it’s just—”

“You have an image to keep, got it,” you cut him off, seeing how much he was struggling with words.

Lucifer shrugs.

“I don’t like them, I admit,” he says, passing a hand through his hair. He stops momentarily, looking at the hair between his fingers. “But I also don’t regret what I’ve done. And, my hair isn’t white thanks to stress.” He shows you a small smile and you tilt your head in confusion. “When I was an angel, I had pure white hair. Just like my wings, they turned black after my Fall. But sometimes, some traces of the old white color my bangs.”

“Woah, that’s cool,” you say with awe. “Do you think I can use a spell or potion to make my hair magically change colors?” You touch your own hair, pensive.

“That mind of yours can wander on some wildly different concepts,” Lucifer chuckles. He seems amused now. More relaxed. You should be going, but first…

“By the way Lucifer,” you call his attention, “I almost forgot, we should cancel the bet. Let’s just tell your brothers about us, I think it’s better this way.”

The avatar of pride seems caught by surprise at first, but he quickly relaxes and nods.

“Yes, I realize it could only bring unnecessary problems. I—we will tell them during lunch today.”

“Awesome, I’m going then.” You grab your clothes and shoes and stop at the door. “I won't tell anyone about this.” You wink and blow him a kiss.

Lucifer smiles and thanks you, but he doesn’t return the gesture; sad but expected. You wave one last goodbye before unlocking the door and leaving.

The hallway is empty, which couldn’t be better. But before you can reach your room, Satan leaves his own and turns in your direction. You freeze in the same second you meet his eyes.  _ ‘This is bad. Badbadbabdbadbadbad.’ _

“Tsuki? What are you…?” He freezes too, staring now, with an unreadable expression. This is very awkward. Yesterday’s clothes on your arms, using Lucifer’s dark robe and with damp hair. “Those are Lucifer’s clothes… Have you… _ slept _ with him?” Satan says, slowly, like he’s trying to describe what his eyes are seeing so he can comprehend it.

_ Well, fuck, this is the last thing you wanted _ . The avatar of wrath has always been a huge worry when it comes to your relationship with Lucifer. From all brothers, he’s the one with whom you wanted to have a private and serious conversation about it. You are anxious about him flipping his shit over you dating his older brother who is also the reason for his existence.

“I—”

“Wait, never mind.”

Satan suddenly moves, back to his room.  _ ‘Oh shit, oh fuck.’ _

“Satan, wait!” You rush ahead and drop your clothes on the ground to hold him with both hands. He looks at you with an uncertain expression now. His eyes look so sad. “Please, listen to me! Let me explain, Satan!”

“Grr, I get it! You don’t need to explain anything to me!” There’s a flicker of anger on his face when he easily breaks your hold on his arm and brings a hand to his doorknob. He’s running away.

“ _ Fucking wait and listen to me! _ ” you yell. Satan jerks away then becomes completely still, looking at you with surprised eyes. “Ah, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to use the pact…” You really didn’t, but now that he can’t leave you should use this opportunity to explain yourself. “Satan, I am so sorry for not telling you sooner!” you start, holding both his arms with your hands, looking at him with pleading eyes. “I  **really** didn’t want you to find out like this, I  _ swear! _ I am dating Lucifer.” Only his eyes widen with shock. Your own eyes already start to tear up, afraid of losing your friend. “I’ve been into him for a long time, I couldn’t help it… We got together about two weeks ago. Only Beel and Asmo know so far. I wanted to wait for a bit to test the waters and there was also a bet going on to see how long it could take Mammon to get a hint but I decided to end it and come out to everyone  _ today.” _ Your mind is working a mile a second, and the words leave your mouth one after the other in a short space of time. “I was really afraid of you finding out too…” When you feel a tear scroll down your right cheek, you feel Satan trying to move under your death grip on him, but the pact over him is too strong. “I know you have a  _ huge _ Lucifer complex and I am really worried over losing you thanks to that, you are one of my best friends, I may love Lucifer but I love you too.”

Your voice cracks at the end and you have to stop. Furiously you clean the tears with the sleeves of the robe and try to calm down.

“Please don’t hate me.” The long rambling ends here. You keep your face buried in your hands, hoping the pact power over the avatar of wrath will wear off so he can move and talk again. You try to wait for a bit, but the waiting is  _ killing _ you. “Please say something…” 

“I would never hate you,” he says, voice low and careful. He brings both his hands to rest at your shoulders. “I’m just…surprised.” He pauses, like he doesn’t know how to continue. You gather enough courage to take your hands off your face to meet the avatar of wrath again. The regret hits you right after, as Satan looks really hurt. “To be honest, I always had a feeling you liked Lucifer more,” he laughs sadly, looking away. “Listen, Tsuki, I’ll be happy just to see you happy. Doesn’t matter with whom or how you decide to live your life…”

“Satan, don’t say it like I’m leaving you, I’m  _ not _ .” You cup his cheeks and make him face you, showing him a pout. “The only thing that’s going to change is that I am dating your older brother but the rest won’t change.”

“Right, right, of course!” He manages to smile, and puts his hand in the air in a peace gesture. “I guess I only need some time,” he lets out a sigh. “Time to…get used to it, I think.”

“You better  _ not _ try to avoid me, or I’ll hunt you down!” you warn, seriously.

Satan laughs again, a bit more genuine this time.

“I wouldn’t dare! You’re scary.” The avatar of wrath covers your hands with his and slowly makes you release them from his face. Now the demon is smiling melancholically at you. “I really like you, Tsuki, I cannot dream of losing you, so,” he kisses one of your hands, “I’ll do my best to support you.”

You feel a blush start to color your cheeks. Nodding, you let go of Satan’s hold only to give him a hug.

“Thank you, Satan, I can’t dream of a life without having you as well. I like you a lot.”

“You have no idea of how happy that makes me.” He squeezes you in the hug. When you push away, Satan grabs your clothes for you. “If Lucifer ever hurts you, tell me and I’ll  _ end _ his life,” he says while smiling, making it sound  _ very _ ominous.

“Ok!” you agree, partially because he looks kind of terrifying and partially because if Lucifer hurts you someday, you’ll want revenge and who is a better fit for this task than the avatar of wrath?

Excusing yourself, you go back to your room, leaving Satan to his own thoughts.

After changing, you sit on bed, wondering about several things: last night, Lucifer’s scars, and how Satan will act around you and Lucifer now. The future is scary. You wish you could think less about it, and not worry about things that don’t even exist yet. Sighing, you shake your head and try not to think too hard, otherwise you’ll end up getting an anxiety attack before even seeing the other brothers’ reaction. Reluctantly, you leave for breakfast.

Upon reaching the dining room, you see Mammon is serving the food and everyone is already here. It’s late in the afternoon, so the food is basically a brunch. Your eyes meet Lucifer’s for a second before they travel, looking for Satan instinctively. The avatar of wrath is looking away, lost in thoughts. You sit down next to Levi. There seems to be some small talk about the party between Asmo and Beel but you don’t pay any attention to it, deciding to simply eat in silence.

“Brothers, I have something to announce,” Lucifer speaks all of a sudden, making you choke on your food. Your heart jumps in your chest, and immediately you have to drink a whole cup of water. “Tsuki, come here.”

The devil is smiling at you. Nothing sounds louder than your heartbeat. You feel like everyone is looking at you when you decide, against your better judgement, to stand up and walk to Lucifer’s side. Your footsteps feel wonky, like you are going to trip at any second. Lucifer is going to tell them the thing. Stopping beside the demon, you grip hard at the fabric of your pants with both hands.

“We would like to tell everyone that we are dating,” Lucifer announces easily with a big grin.

“WHAT?!” screams both Mammon and Levi at the same time, suddenly standing up.

_ “Uso darou!” _ Levi legit screamed ‘it can’t be’ in Japanese.

Asmo is already giggling excitedly. Beel is only smiling while Belphie has a very serious expression beside him. Satan is now looking at you two, also with a very shocked expression. Why is  _ he  _ shocked? Did he, in the back of his mind, believe what happened earlier to be a hallucination of some sort? 

“I knew it,” Belphie concludes after a few seconds.

“No, you don’t!” Mammon insists. “You’re lying! This must be a prank.”

“Mammon,” you sigh, “I guarantee you, this is tru—”

Lucifer pulls you into his lap, making you stop talking, and gives you a kiss on the lips. You are frozen with your eyes open looking at him while a choir of screams from all the brothers echoes through the room. When Lucifer pulls away, he still has the same wide grin.

“I take this is enough proof?” the avatar of pride cockily says to his brothers.

Squirming around, you pull free from the demon to stand up again, face heating. Why did this jerk have to do this before even asking you?! You don’t  _ want _ to look at the others, but you do. Mammon is pale and with his mouth wide open in shock. Levi isn’t very different, stunned with what he just saw. Asmo, Beel and Belphie are taking it more easily than the others. Satan doesn’t look too different from Mammon and Levi. The apathetic look on the face of the avatar of wrath makes it seem like he’s disconnected with everything that is currently happening in front of him. Only watching it, mortified.

“It’s true,” you say after a pause, just to end this already.

“Of course, Tsuki wouldn’t stay with a yucky otaku like me…” Levi laments, sitting back in his place, depressed.

Mammon keeps struggling with what to say for a while, so you feel forced to walk to the greed demon.

“We are still friends, don’t worry.”

The demon gasps when realizing how close you are to him now.

“You—I.” He cleans his throat. “Wha…what makes you think The Great Mammon is worried about some human dating my brother?”

You punch him in the forearm and walk past him.

“Great, you’re still you.”

“Whaddya mean?!”

Ignoring Mammon, you sit with Levi to comfort him this time. You hold the hands of the avatar of envy, smiling, and remind him that nothing is going to change between you two either. He blushes a lot. Mammon and the others calm down and breakfast proceeds as normal. Asmo excitedly congratulates the new couple and the twins are cool as well. Lucifer keeps smiling the whole time. And Satan remains quiet. Maybe he just needs some more time, like he himself said… You can only hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopeful everyone survived that sex scene B)
> 
> Also I hate myself for adding a plot point for Satan so damn late to the fic, see the end of this mess next week ;D


	19. Uncontainable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the last chapter ;''')  
> I didn't went lesson 19-20 here. Too depressing. 
> 
> Title: Uncontainable by Set It Off

**Chapter 15 – Uncontainable**

“I just don’t get it!”

The avatar of wrath complains for the third time in an hour. After a few days of clearly avoiding you, despite his previous claims, you found that asking Satan for help with homework was the way to force him to talk to you. It worked a bit too well and now he has been going on about your relationship with Lucifer. The rest of his brothers have been taking it a lot better than what you expected. Even Mammon. The avatar of greed said a few things, quite rudely, about you dating his older brother, but you quickly shut him down. In the matter of rudeness, few can win over you. The only problematic demon now is Satan.

“How did you even  _ fall in love _ with Lucifer?!” You never wanted to roll your eyes so much before. But you take a deep breath. Satan is talking to you again; better not piss him off so soon.

“We don’t choose the person we fall in love with, Satan,” you monotonically answer. Eyes fixed on your notebook, you finish the homework while the demon rants. “Trust me, I wouldn’t have chosen Lucifer either.”

“Who would you have chosen?”

“It's. A. Secret~” you sing, bashful.  _ ‘You, silly!’  _ you add internally. 

“Figures,” Satan snorts. “I mean, dating Lucifer could be a nightmare!” Here we go again… “He’s always working! And has barely no anger management. Imagine you’re with him and suddenly he needs to ditch you for Lord Diavolo!”

_ “I would cut his balls off. _ And maybe Diavolo's too.”

Satan laughs.

“Please do it! Anyway, a nightmare. He’ll be late for dates, thanks to his work, and you won’t have your deserved attention. He may even tell you to spend time with someone else! It would be just awful.”

_ ‘Oh my fucking God.’ _

“You aren’t talking about a single pro of dating Lucifer, only the cons. Which I already know,” you manage to say with the last bits of your patience. If he keeps going on his tangent, you’ll be forced to shut him down just like Mammon.

“What even would be the pros?! Lots of presents and some expensive dinner? Maybe even status.”

_ ‘Those are very good pros, Satan! And also cuddles, kisses and intimacy. I can talk to him about stuff. He’s also great in bed.’ _ You press your lips together to not say what’s going on inside your head. You are not standing it anymore.

“Listen, I get it, you have dad issues. That’s ok. But please, stop saying things I already know.”

“I do  _ not _ have dad issues!”

“Except you  _ do _ ,” you hastily correct him, forcefully closing your notebook. No use trying to study any longer. “But I guess you’re more comfortable calling it ‘Lucifer Complex’? Both you and Lucifer won’t admit it, but he’s basically your father. You two just decided that was  _ not _ what you wanted to be.”

“You don’t know—”

“ _ I am speaking now! _ ” you scream over Satan’s voice and he shuts his mouth, surprisingly. You expected more resistance.  _ Fine _ , you didn’t want to have this particular conversation but it seems like you have no other choice now. “Either you are afraid Lucifer is going to treat me as badly as he did to you or you are jealous of  _ me _ .”

Satan laughs in disdain.

“Impossible! Why would  _ I _ be jealous of  _ you _ , Tsuki?” He waves a hand, dismissing this completely unfounded claim of yours.

“Because I am the object of Lucifer’s affection.” You can see the exact moment when the color leaves his face and his annoying smile drops. “That’s all you ever wanted isn’t it, Satan? You don’t hate Lucifer; you hate how he  _ treated _ you. Dude has dad issues too. I can see why he did what he did. Lucifer was afraid he was going to be as shitty a father as  _ his _ father was to him so he decided to be your brother instead. And for his brothers to take care of you as well. He wanted to keep his distance to protect you, so he wouldn’t hurt you or fuck you over. Unfortunately, it did hurt you. But he did what he considered to be the right thing to do. Lucifer made a mistake. Or several… But he’s not perfect.”

Satan remains quiet while it all sinks in. Since you are at it, may as well spell it out to Satan about what he should do.

“But what do I know? I’m just some human, right!” you angrily add. The demon keeps silent, looking at his closed book on his hands, so you take a minute to calm down before finishing your train of thought. “If you want his affection, his _attention_ , you can just _talk_ to him.” The avatar of wrath opens his mouth to protest but you raise a hand and shut him. “And I know what you’re going to say, a lot of excuses, but that’s all they are, Satan. Excuses. You are afraid of being rejected, so you pretend Lucifer won’t listen to you by creating excuses. News flash, asshole, I found out Lucifer isn’t that bad when you _actually_ _talk_ to him, and he is a great listener too. You really should give it a shot. Try to make your relationship better. By having a civilized and heartfelt conversation with Lucifer.”

Your good friend keeps quiet, angrily staring at you. Feeling like this isn’t going anywhere anymore, you hastily get your things and stand up. Time to go.

“So, you say all you want and aren’t even going to offer to help me?”

Stopping, you look at Satan. You feel disgusted, honestly. Wasn’t he one of the few demons that was so against making you fix even more of their own problems? Is this the thanks you get from always helping him? He also sounds awfully childish. Seems like everyone is selfish deep down.

“Do I need to hold your hand?”

The avatar of wrath opens his mouth, but then closes it. Satan looks away—only now he must be realizing what he’s implying. Or maybe he got concerned over the way it sounded. You give him your back; this is a mess you’re not fixing any longer. They are both stubborn. The root of all the problems in this family isn’t the shitty heavenly father or the dead sister, as you previously thought. No. It’s their unwillingness to simply talk to each other about their problems and insecurities. You’re done. What they need isn’t a therapist, but to grow up and fix their own problems by their own will. You close the door of Satan’s room with far more force than what’s necessary.

Instead of the mountain of books and notebooks on the floor of your room, only food wrappers and empty water bottles are present on Levi’s floor. The new suspense and mystery detective anime is pretty good, maybe it would make Satan check out anime. That prick has as many issues as you and you finally opted to give him one last push to fix things with Lucifer. Now he’s not talking to you. Great. Just great, you cry on his shoulders one day and the next day it feels like it changed nothing. Instead of not talking to you because he likes you so damn much that being with Lucifer breaks his heart, you decide to just go and break his heart yourself. By telling him what he needs to do and making him realize his own problems. You honestly just want the best for him, but sadly, people don’t like listening to the truth.

The day ends and all you and Levi did was watch the anime. It has a good end. Obviously, the avatar of envy wants to recap and review the show after it ends. You don’t mind at first, you’re glad for the distraction, but you are tired and tomorrow you shouldn’t slack off on your homework again.

“…And tomorrow the new game of Dogi ☆ Maji ☆ will be released!” Levi announces, laughing while checking out the new update on his computer. After the anime talk, he starts talking about the Dogi☆ Maji ☆ series; he loves those types of dating sims.

Well, hopefully he won’t want you to play this one… The whole ‘die in the game, die in real life,’ isn’t your thing. Too stressful. Moving from your chair, you try to look at the time on the computer screen, then you notice it’s different.

“Uh? Why is the date and time different here? It isn’t five in the afternoon…of June seventh?!”

“My computer is on Japan time, of course.” Should have expected this much.

You blink at the screen. Not only have you been in Hell for over seven months, but tomorrow, in the human world, it’s your birthday. Time seems to be flying lately.

“Tomorrow is my birthday…” you murmur to yourself, without knowing what to think of it. Devildom follows its own calendar so your 25 th birthday completely slipped your mind. If you hadn’t seen the date, you would only remember it sometime after it had passed. Do the brothers even know? Lucifer probably does, considering he read your file.

“Oh yeah, pretty awesome, right?! We have been w—” Levi stops abruptly. When you face him again, he is looking at the side with his hand covering his mouth.

“Why so shy all of a sudden?” you ask, invading Levi’s personal space. The demon moves in his chair, trying to get away. “Oh, no, you’ll tell me what you were talking about just now!”

“Nothing!” Levi screams, guilt written all over his face.

What is he hiding? If he knows your birthday is tomorrow, then so do all his brothers! It cannot be…!

“Did you guys plan a surprise party for me?” Levi gasps, but closes his mouth and doesn’t say a word. “I am not fond of parties…” you remind him with a very serious tone of voice. On your birthdays you’d rather go out to eat or have some fun instead of making a party. Never had many friends to invite over anyway… 

Levi starts to look uncomfortable under your intense gaze. You could use the pact to make him talk but that’s a bit too extreme for your taste.

“W-We know…” he says after a long time, facing his gamer mouse. “W-why would we make a s-surprise party for you? I mean, we never–, don’t, usually commemorate birthdays…” he trails off. After stuttering so much you almost feel bad for forcing him to talk. “A-A-Anyway!” his voice becomes louder now, startling you. “M-Maybe we should… Go out tomorrow! Yes! To buy yo–  _ MY  _ new game!” the demon bursts off with even more stuttering.

You blink at him, trying to rationalize. So, is he taking you out so the others can organize the place? Predictable. However, you don’t mind going out with this otaku mess. Also, you feel bad for pressing him now, Levi clearly told you more than what he should already and he could get into trouble with his brothers.

“Sure.”

_ “Sure?!” _

“Why are you so shocked?”

“N-Noth… Never mind.” Levi shakes his head and takes deep breaths to calm himself.

“After RAD?”

“YES!” Levi screams again. Oh boy, he is nervous, his whole face is red. You politely excuse yourself from his room, feeling like he’ll just keep being this nervous around you for the rest of the night. “W-wait!” Levi calls you out when you move towards the door. “T-There’s n-no surprise party!” And he even makes an X over his chest to reinforce it.

_ ‘But you don’t look convincing, gamer boy.’ _

“Of course not,” you tell him after a sigh, making the demon gasp again, “I guess I was wrong?” Levi nods frantically. “See you tomorrow, Levi,” you tell him goodbye again. Tomorrow is looking promising.

Saying you can’t sleep would be an understatement. Ever since that talk with Levi, all you think of is what the demon brothers are planning to do on your birthday. Asmo does call you at midnight, he wants to be the first one to congratulate you (and he is). The avatar of lust wishes you a very happy anniversary and says some sweet stuff to you. No one ever did that before, it makes you feel so loved.

On the subject of the party, an extravagant party with too many decorations, fireworks and lots of unnecessary features and alcohol is your bet. Definitely won’t be small and simple, like what you would like it to be. In fact, screw the party, you’d rather go to Ristorante Six and have a wonderful and calm night. Oh damn, you must be Lucifer’s soulmate or something, right? Always picking up the demon’s odd behaviors and bad lies, wanting peace and silence… A couple of old people, you and the prideful demon are.

You do pass out and sleep in the middle of the night but wake up earlier than your alarm. It’s not your cooking duty day but since you’re up and done, there’s no reason to stay in your room. Better not delay the inevitable, you are curious after all. At least the demon brothers did remember your birthday (even though they decided to not ask about what you wanted to do).

Leaving your room, you set out for the kitchen. It should be Asmo’s cooking day and you don’t like his pancakes, he always burns them. Should cook them yourself, and add extra syrup. Turning into the hallway, you bump into someone.

“Sorry, I didn’t… _ Lucifer?!” _ He chuckles and takes a step away. Lucifer is ready for the day too, already in his uniform. “Why are you awake so early?”

“I wanted to be the first to wish a happy birthday,” the avatar of pride tells you. He has a shy smile and is blushing slightly. “Happy birthday, Tsuki, may this one be a bright day filled with happiness for you.”

Lucifer holds your chin up and gives you a quick kiss on the lips.

“Thank you.” Your face is already heating up. Lucifer can say sweet things sometimes. Luckily, he doesn’t know Asmo is the first. He doesn’t need to know. “I hope so, too. Where’s my present?”

“Later,” he smiles, “no need to be so impatient.”

Oh, he’ll give it to you during the surprise party then. Part of you wants to impulsively ask about ‘later,’ but at the same time you want to pretend to not know. The demon goes with you to the dining room.

Morning goes as normal, a normal day of long lectures about demon lifestyle and culture. None of your friends congratulate you but that is to be expected. You didn’t tell them and the brothers probably didn’t either. Lord Diavolo must know however…

On lunch break, Luke invites you to eat with him and the others and you accept. But Luke forgot his wallet in the classroom and asks you to help him to find it. What if some demon has stolen it? If someone did, they have to face your wrath. So, you go back to the classroom with Luke to search for his wallet, and thankfully it is still on his backpack. Crisis averted. You and Luke find Solomon, Simeon and Mephisto sitting at a table in the far-left corner of the cafeteria. As soon as you two get closer Solomon raises his hands and a bunch of confetti starts falling from the sky while small fireworks explode in the air. You flinch, blinking. When you get over the sudden confetti rain and the fireworks, you notice there’s now a giant purple and white cake with animal decorations on top of the table.

“Surprise!” they all say together. “Happy Birthday, Tsuki!”

“How did you  _ know _ ?” is the first thing you manage to say, still pretty much in shock.

“Hm? The brothers told us,” Simeon replies, looking as radiant as always. “Last week I heard Mammon talking to Asmo about your birthday celebration. When they noticed me, Mammon told me the date so we planned this little celebration as well. I hope you enjoy it!”

Oh, they are so cool. You never had a surprise birthday party before but since you are  _ sure _ the brothers are planning one at the moment, what your other friends would do for you just slipped your mind. A smile forms on your face, happy with this surprise. Luke tugs at your clothes.

“Did you like the cake? I did it myself!” Luke announces, overly excited. Ah, he does remind you of a happy dog now.

Taking another look at the cake, you observe the details carefully. The cake has purple and white stripes and is decorated with colorful sprinkles. Small animals are on the border of the cake: cat, dog, crow, frog, butterfly and a bat.  _ It’s so adorable _ .

“I love it! Thanks, Luke. If you made it then it must be very tasty.” You smile at Luke and he gives you a tight hug.

Joining the table, the other boys start giving you gifts. How thoughtful, you didn’t expect all of them to give you gifts too! Simeon gives you a small white and gold amulet. It has some angelic rune in the middle. The angel says it should protect you from evil spirits if you ever need extra protection. Mephisto gives you a frog plushie, it has a goofy smile and a small black top hat. Small tears start to form in your eyes.

“This is the cutest frog I have ever seen,” you cry, hugging the soft plushie tightly, as if your life depends on it.

“Haha, I knew you would like it,” Mephisto proudly says.

“My turn,” Solomon taps your arm to get our attention. He hands you a simple small white envelope.

Taking it, you inspect the fancy envelope first. Solomon’s handwriting on the back only says “Happy Birthday, Tsuki”. You let your cute frog rest on your lap while you take a look inside, curious. You were expecting something different from him, maybe a spells book or some magic artifact. The content in the envelope is even more surprising. It’s a letter, a short and direct to the point letter. The first part is composed of two short paragraphs about Solomon’s best wishes for you. But the interesting part is at the bottom. A spell is written at the bottom with what seems to be an address and a name, Barbara Agnes, with the following in parenthesis: “If you ever want to polish your magic skills you should go train with her.” Interesting. Solomon’s birthday present is an invitation to learn magic while in the human world. Somehow it seems to fit his personality well, now that you think about it.

“Oh, thanks, Solomon, you have a special way with words.” You smile and close the envelope, quickly putting it inside your backpack.

“Really? What did Solomon write for you, Tsuki?” Luke asks curiously. “I want to see it!”

“Uh…”

“It’s nothing special, Luke,” Solomon laughs, drawing his attention. “I simply thought writing a letter was a nicer way to convert my feelings to Tsuki than giving them a present.”

Well, the sorcerer  _ certainly _ has a way with words. Luke nods frantically in understanding. Seems like Solomon doesn’t want the others to know he basically told you to train with witches in the human world. That’s really not a bad idea, it’s something you are considering a lot. It’s worth a shot, hopefully this Barbara is less shady than Solomon and the witches Mammon works for so frequently. In fact, the demons make it seem like most witches are completely crazy or eccentric. Part of you keeps thinking the sorcerer has an ulterior motive to everything, even though he never did anything that could cause concern.

“Wow, so extra,” Mephisto comments, unfazed.

You laugh at Solomon’s shrug before telling Luke to serve the cake. Ah, cake for lunch, today’s already an amazing day! As expected it's delicious. The attention to detail on the cake almost makes you break down crying. Luke made your favorite, chocolate with chocolate chips. Once you compliment the cake, so do the others. They also got some Devildom coke (brilliantly called ‘Devil’s Coke’) for the small celebration. Everyone eats in silence for a while.

“By the way, who called you, Memphis?”

“Soloman.”

“It’s Solomon, actually,” corrects Solomon. 

“But aren’t you a man?”

You burst out laughing, spitting some cake on the table (‘ _ ah, gross’ _ ). Solomon just sighs and doesn't insist. The angels are looking at you curiously. Luke is a bit confused but Simeon already has a big grin on his face.

“Are you a  _ man _ , Solomon?” you ask, not letting this die without teasing the sorcerer. He’s so  _ perfect  _ all the time, you don’t have material to tease him.

“Hey, are you  _ solo _ , too?” Mephisto inquiries. “Single and available?” He has a hand over his lips and is smiling behind them. 

“Last time I checked, yes…to both those questions...” Now both you and Mephisto are laughing.

“I think everyone should just call him The  _ Solo Man _ , now,” Mephisto whispers to you, which only fuels your giggling. Now Solomon is blushing, looking away from the others.

“Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I made  _ you _ embarrassed,” you say with more laughing, “I guess you’re a mortal just like me!”

“Another birthday present for TsuTsu!” says Mephisto. Both of you laugh a bit more. Simeon is laughing too now.

“Don’t be embarrassed, Solomon! I’m sure everyone is just messing with you because we like you,” Luke says, tapping his shoulder in a supportive way. Ah, you guys don’t deserve Luke, he’s too pure. Why the fuck did Michael even send such a cute and innocent angel to Hell? If you ever meet him, you’ll be having a  _ talk _ about it.

Even though the cake is already half eaten, when the lunch break ends you insist on taking a few photos with your friends. A tear breaks free when you see the new photos. When Mephisto and Luke call your attention to it, you simply smile and say you’re just too happy they took the effort and time to come to celebrate your birthday with you. They smile and reassure you they are happy too. Your attention is broken when your D.D.D. buzzes. Barbatos has sent you a text asking where you are. Not wanting to cause any problems today, you text him the exact location and let the others know.

Not two minutes pass and you hear someone calling your name. Turning to the side, you see Diavolo and Barbatos approaching. They stop in front of you. Diavolo has a wide smile and is carrying a small red box with a giant pink bow on top.

“We came to wish you a great birthday, Tsuki!” Diavolo announces.

“Have a great birthday, may you only find happiness today,” says Barbatos, smiling as well.

“We also brought you a present!”

“Thank you, Lord Diavolo, Barbatos,” you politely say, taking the small box. The bow is so perfect, it’s a present by itself too. Opening it unceremoniously, you see an intricate brooch inside. “Interesting pick,” you comment, taking the brooch from the box. Golden and with red and blue stones, the form reminds you of a spider. A spider shaped brooch with two colored stones... Does it have any hidden meaning…? “I don’t know what I was expecting but it’s very pretty. Is it made of gold?”

“Of course!” Diavolo laughs. “The stones are carnelian and lapis-lazuli. Do you like it? It’s a creation from one of my oldest friends. She has made jewels like this for a living for many centuries.”

“It’s really beautiful.”

“I’m glad! Now if you excuse us, I am a bit busy today. Enjoy your day!”

Diavolo waves and leaves with Barbatos. As fast as they got here, they are gone. You put the brooch back in the box. Should have expected a fancy and expensive gift from the Prince of Devildom. Though it’s pretty and you like the brooch, you probably won’t ever use it.  _ Where _ would you ever use a big and fancy brooch like that? Simeon and Solomon compliment your present, but Luke asks why it’s a spider. All things considered, the small angel has a point. Why is it a spider? Spiders are very cool and all, but they also survive by trapping their prey and injecting acid into their bodies to eat organs soup. Super cool animals. But also an animal many people are afraid of. Mephisto only shrugs when you ask what he thinks of the brooch and says if you ever need easy money you should just sell it. He has a good point too.

The rest of the day progresses just as normal. After the classes end, you meet Levi by the gate. The avatar of envy doesn’t like going out but he seems happier than normal to go out shopping with you. Pretty sure he’s just going to buy you a present now. But this is the perfect opportunity to buy clothes for a certain someone. Someone that doesn’t know what ‘casual’ clothing means.

Having you by his side, Levi doesn’t look like a total walking mess. Bumping into people on the streets upsets him, but this you can relate to. Levi basically walks you to the game store he wanted to visit. Inside the shop, Levi walks to a shelf while rambling about all sorts of games. You let him loose on this element until he remembers you’re here as well. He gasps and turns at you after a few minutes and tells you to pick something that he’ll buy for you. Calmy, you grab a copy of the new DevilMons. It looks like a cheap Pokémon knock-off but it's actually pretty fun. You played DevilMons 5.0 and it was very enjoyable. Complimenting your pick, Levi grabs a visual novel with a ridiculously long name and goes to the cashier to pay. Without speaking a word, he pushes the money and the games into the cashier’s hands. He has a nervous smile and his eyes are looking all over the place. You stop beside him as a moral support. Once the games are paid for, he hands over the bag with your games and sings a nervous “Happy birthday!” to you.

“Thanks, Levi. And I’m proud of you,” you say while smiling.

The avatar of envy short-circuits, going all red. He hides his face behind one of his arms and stutters a thank you. You and Levi walk around the streets for a few minutes. When you decide to ask him to help you buy something, you see he’s already on his D.D.D., looking at it seriously. Receiving no answer when you call him out, you decide to shake his arm. This gets Levi's attention: he jerks and stares at you with widened and confused eyes. You explain that you want to buy casual clothes for Lucifer. Punk, preferably. The demon has a dumbfounded expression for a moment, but he nods.

The two of you find a rock themed shop in a small gallery near the center. It has many rock and metal bands merchandise. A dark pair of ripped jeans is your first pick, and you make Levi hold it so he has something to do.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Levi asks, watching you fumble through the hangers.

“It’s  _ my _ birthday and I want everyone to  _ do _ something for me. Lucifer is going to wear casual clothes for the first time in his life,” you explain, suddenly stopping upon seeing a nice shirt. It’s black with colorful neon letters (the band name, probably, you can’t read this crazy font) in pink and blue, skulls and some instruments including a drum and guitars. “How about this one? I think it’s Something Ghouls?”

“The Undead Ghouls, Mammon really likes this band. A while ago he was going crazy over money to buy their new album. I refused to lend mine, of course, he has a large ongoing debt with me, personally. What a scummy older brother I have…” Levi keeps on muttering offenses under his breath. “He got the album in the end, but I don’t know  _ who _ lent him the money for it.”

“Hmm, should get him one too, I quite like this stamp. Oh, they have a green and yellow one.”

“It’s  _ your _ birthday,” he brings your attention, “should you really be getting others presents?”

“Nah, I don’t mind, and Mammon won’t complain this way.” After getting the Ghouls shirts, a purple and black shirt with a bat playing a guitar and chain details is screaming your name. “And this one too, for me.”

“That’s from Bats On Chains…”

“Good. At least the Devildom bands have cool names!”

After buying the clothes, Levi suggests one more stop (after receiving a suspicious text message), to buy some coffee. He takes you to a coffee shop he came to with Satan, Beel and Asmo before, as he’s sure you’re going to like the stuff they have. It’s a pretty and charming place and there isn’t much movement. But still, Levi trembles all over and stutters a little when he has to make his order. His drink is a colorful and cool juice, while you have ordered just some normal coffee with chocolate. Sitting in a quiet corner by a window, you two chat until the drinks are finished. Levi is a lot calmer when it’s only the two of you talking. Only then does Levi agree to go back to the house. It almost felt like a date. It was a fun evening and you make sure to tell that to Levi, making him all flustered again.

In cue, Lucifer is waiting for both of you in the entrance hall. The oldest demon is already in his “casual” outfit. He greets you and tells you both to shower and change clothes.

“To get ready for the party, right?” you joke with a grin.

“I’m afraid there’s no party,” Lucifer shakes his head. His expression becomes a bit worried as his smile drops. Looks like you caught him off guard. “As you know, we don’t really commemorate birthdays, but we are leaving to have dinner out.” He meets your eyes with his usual smile this time. “Ristorante Six must be your pick, right?”

“It’s definitely not AkuDonalt’s,” you laugh. The biggest plot twist would be them being serious about not having planned a party for you. But that’s impossible. “By the way, Lucifer, I bought something for you! I would love it if you used it today.”

After giving the bag to Lucifer, he peeks inside in the same second with a curious smile. Taking the clothes out of the bag, he examines them carefully.

“For my birthday I need no present, only to see you in casual clothes,” you burst out, feeling your face starting to get hot with embarrassment.

“But I always wear casual clothes at home.”

“Lucifer, please, anyone else calls your ‘casual’ clothes a formal attire!”

He hums pensively, taking another look at the new clothes.

“Alright, I shall do as you want.”

“Perfect! Thanks!” You spring to your boyfriend and give him a peck before dashing to your room.

The day is going so well it almost scares you. Things don’t usually go this well for so long. Maybe you are going to  _ hate _ whatever they decided to do. But you try to ignore those doubts and anxieties. Taking a long and hot shower, you relax. Thanks to a certain demon, you have way too many clothes in your wardrobe, and it’s hard to pick. Still, nothing like your usual style, especially with the bonus of having matching clothes with Lucifer. So, you decide to wear the new shirt, a comfortable pair of dark purple leggings and as many punk accessories you can wear. You also take off your contacts and put on matching purple glasses.

Going straight to the dining room, you see no one, which is a miracle. But as soon as you put a hand on the doorknob (that was literally never closed before), you hear Lucifer yell a “Wait!” behind you. While you do turn to look at Lucifer  _ (‘Christ, did he just manifest here?’ _ ), your hand is already turning the doorknob, and the door opens. There is a sharp inhale of air and a surprised yell from Mammon before the sound of explosions reach your ears. Startled, your focus goes back to the room, just in time to see a rain of confetti falling from the ceiling. Blinking, you remain in the same spot. The dining room is completely decorated with colorful balloons and ribbons. Most of the balloons are in moon and stars shape, but some have animal shapes (cats and bears). From what you can see, there’s a “Happy 25th Birthday, Tsuki!” banner floating over a table full of food and the banner has several painted frogs with little hearts around them. All the brothers are inside the room and they promptly stop everything they were doing to wish you a happy birthday.

Lucifer puts a hand on your back, pushing you forward. Leaving the inertia state, you stumble forward a little and turn to look at him. The avatar of pride has a small smile and he  _ is _ using  _ only _ what you bought him. Both the shirt and the jeans are perfect on his body. You drool a little, eyes going up and down his form. Lucifer looks different now, younger. Actually, just like his brothers, he does look young, but the formal clothes he uses daily add a layer of seriousness and strictness to him.

Stepping into the room, you smile and are quickly taken to Beel’s and Mammon’s arms as they show you around the place. Beel points at the food he and Satan cooked and Mammon at the decorations he and Asmo made. You notice the confetti just continues to fall, painting everyone with colorful pieces of paper. They are smiling and you can see a pile of presents in one of the chairs. Satan now comes by and asks what you think about the food. Passing your eyes over the table again, you see that the cake is  _ giant: _ it has seven tiers. Seven! It’s white with purple Chantilly and many fruits. The candle is a crescent moon. Organized on the table, there are sandwiches, many junk foods, pancakes  _ (‘of course’ _ ), many sweets, moon themed cupcakes and…

“Brigadeiro?!” You get rid of Mammon’s hold to observe the small round chocolate balls dessert.

“Are you surprised? We spent two days trying to master this recipe,” Satan says while looking proud.

“I can’t believe it.” You take one to taste. “Oh my God, it tastes just like brigadeiro! Even the texture is right!” You can already feel tears trying to break free from the nostalgic taste. It’s been  _ so long _ since you’d eaten any human food, let alone one of your favorite desserts. “It tastes divine, I think I’m crying.” Proving your words, you eat another.  _ ‘So good.’ _

“I sure am glad you like it so much, the first ones we did turned into stone,” Belphie sighs at the end. “At least Beel ate them.”

“They were tasty,” the avatar of gluttony comments, laughing.

“Yes, it took a while to get it right, but seeing you so happy totally makes it worth it,” Satan smiles at you. So, he is being nice to you again? That’s wonderful, actually, the last thing you want is a pissed off Satan in a corner.

Jumping at Satan, you give him a hug while murmuring ‘thanks’ over and over again, cleaning the happy tears on his clothes while you refuse to let him go. Whilst he is stiff and confused at first, he hugs you back. “You are welcome,” he says.

Pulling away, you meet Levi. He has a smile on his face and a colorful party hat on the top of his wild purple hair.

“I was afraid you weren’t going to be excited because you figured out the party thing,” he whispers to you, with a sad frown.

“Well, you guys weren’t going to simply not make me a b-day party, right?”

“Uh, you’re right,” he nods. His previous worry slowly gets lifted.

“Leviathan almost busted out everything,” Mammon complains. He is trying to make Lucifer put on a party hat too but the oldest demon is grimacing while looking at the paper hat. “But you too! Can’t you just stop being so sharp, human?”

“No, can’t do,” you pout at him.

Mammon huffs but shrugs. Lucifer gets tired and gets the party hat from his brother's hands and puts it on by himself. He looks ridiculous and both Satan and Belphie are already giggling at the oldest brother. The colorful pointed hat messes with his hair a little and, being the perfectionist he is, Lucifer spends a minute fighting the hat to keep his hair the way he wants.

The second Beel starts to complain about being hungry, you and the others decide to start eating as well. Everything tastes so good; the brothers have cooked everything you like the most. Their attention to detail makes you feel overwhelmed with emotions. The animal shaped balloons, the purple colors, the moon and stars details. You don’t even like cosmic stuff that much but they remembered your name means ‘Moon’ and decided to include it on the decorations as well. Your heart feels tight and you fight the strong urge to cry over all this. It’s just so sweet, your face is starting to hurt from smiling so much. The demons are looking genuinely happy too. You want to hug all of them, they are… _! _ Fighting over who is going to sit next to you… The urge to cry passes.

Standing up, you roughly order who should sit where and proclaim that you can choose where you wish to sit. In the end, you got Lucifer on one side and Levi on the other, facing Mammon. When the sitting crisis ends and they calm down, Asmo reminds everyone about giving your presents. Levi laughs and says he was the first to give you his present: the game you picked at the shop in the market.

“Then I’ll be the second!” Mammon announces. He reaches for a square golden box and hands it to you while smiling brightly. Opening it, very curious, you quickly see that the greed demon gave you a mug. The mug is white with the saying “I drink the tears of demons” with an unimpressed demon emoji face. It just screams your name. You gasp and show off the mug. The demon brothers start laughing at it. 

“Haha, I knew you would like it!” Mammon proudly says. “Wanted to give ya a mug because… Well, everyone has at least one here and Lucifer even has a collection of porcelain stuff. Levi also has so many anime mugs, it’s crazy. So,” he blushes and looks to the side, “now you have your own mug at the House too. When I saw it at the shop, I knew you would love it.”

“Thanks, it’s amazing.” Mammon blushes even more and closes his eyes while murmuring a “You’re welcome, human.” Very thoughtful, especially coming from Mammon. There’s just so many mugs in the kitchen, you never felt like adding one more to the collection… This does warm your heart, making you feel like part of a big (and crazy) family. 

“My time!” Asmo yells. He sprints to you to deliver a big pink box in your hands. He waits nearby until you open it. It’s a makeup set for beginners: it has all the basic stuff. “You don’t have any makeup sets right? I just had to buy you some then! I’m sure you’ll remember how to use it. And if you can’t, I’ll help you with anything.”

“Aw, that’s great, thanks, Asmo.” You smile and hold hands with Asmo. He’s radiant. The demon squeezes your hands for a bit before being pushed away by Belphie.

The avatar of sloth has a timid smile and is holding his present to you. A pillow. Of course, it’s a pillow. You simply smile and take it. He had the decency to wrap it, but the shape just screams ‘pillow!’. You curiously tear off the wrapping paper (which is cute, actually, it has a sheep stamp). To your big surprise, the pillow is a sheep as well. The sheep has their eyes closed and seems very relaxed. The small curved horns are a shade of yellow and the fur is a light shade of purple.

“That’s very cute! Thanks, Belphie.” To show you like it, you hug the sheep. He may be lazy but he’s also one of the most intelligent demons here. Belphie's smile gets bigger and he seems pleased as well. He gives space for Beel to come give you his present.

_ ‘Is it food? _ ’ you almost ask but decide not to. Surprisingly, Beel hands you a card. Confused, you check the contents; it’s actually a ticket for one-year’s worth of free meals at Hell’s Kitchen. You blink, then read the ticket again. The same words that you have already read are still there.

“You’re sure?” Beel nods.

“It pains me a little to give it away but I figure it’s a great present to give to someone I cherish,” he says while smiling so brightly you can’t refuse and crush his heart. So, you only nod and smile. This is the most unexpected gift so far. 

Next in line is Satan. 

“Books enrich one’s soul, so this is also my present for you.” As expected, he hands you a book. Instead of being wrapped in colorful wrapping paper, the book only has a small green bow attached to its cover. “It’s one of my favorites so I hope you’ll like it as well.”

“Thanks so much!” You take another look at the title and the cover. It seems to be a romance about mysteries. Knowing Satan, it’s full of good twists. 

Satan is smiling and looks just like his usual self, despite neither you nor him apologizing for the other day. But what is in store for Satan will come soon enough. After Satan returns to his seat, the only present missing is the one from the avatar of pride.

Lucifer stands and walks to the chair where the presents were originally and grabs the only bag that is there. The unwrapped presents are now all over a chair close to you.

“Not jewels today,” he announces. From the size of that bag, it is unlikely to be jewels anyway. You don’t recognize the brand name on the bag but it's big enough for some clothes, if you have to guess. He hands you the bag and you peek inside immediately, very curious. “Happy birthday, beauty.”

‘Beauty’ is new.

“Clothes?” It’s definitely fabric that you feel on your hands. The cloth has a nice feeling to touch. It must be some very fancy clothes, the type you use to a Prince’s party. Or a wedding. Could even be a full suit. No complaints, but where would you even use it… To your immense surprise, you pull out a jacket. It’s dark and full of spikes and has some white fur on the collar. There’s a skull design full of bright colors on the back styled like a street mural. The present leaves you so shocked you don’t even breathe for a moment, admiring your new jacket. It's…so  _ cool _ . What is going on with these demons today?! “I…”

“You like it, right?” Lucifer chuckles. “From your expression I think you were expecting something more… What was the word you used earlier? Formal. I know you would prefer clothes like this.”

“I… It’s so beautiful, Lucifer, I’m speechless.” You pass your hand over the leather jacket and the perfect stamp on its back. You can’t hold on any longer and you put it on. It fits perfectly. The wish to cry is back in full force; you only got amazing presents today. Best birthday ever. You spin around, showing off your new jacket to the other demons. Lucifer, in particular, is looking at you with great fondness in his expression, with large pupils and a hand at rest atop his heart.

“Aren’t you two  _ made  _ for each other?” That awful, sad and horrible slothful demon has the guts to complain. Sighing loudly and all.

“I heard you,” you growl. In the distance, someone snorts. 

Belphie turns to Beel, ignoring your severe look.

“I bet their ideal date must be at a rock concert.”

“I wouldn’t mind!” you scream.

“Sounds good to me,” Lucifer comments at the same time. 

Awkwardly, you and Lucifer exchange looks, both a bit surprised at the other for agreeing to a rock concert date. A few seconds into staring at Lucifer’s dazed expression, you laugh all of a sudden, making the eldest demon chuckle as well. Ah, shit, the youngest brother isn’t wrong.

You only take the jacket off because you are afraid of dirting it. Folding the jacket, it goes back to the bag and is left with the other presents. Beel is drooling over your cake so you allow Satan to cut it. The demon brothers have no idea what birthday song to sing so what they sing is a very weird loop of “happy birthday to you” with many ad libs, each demon adding whatever they want to. Feeling too embarrassed to tell them to stop, you simply endure the pain until they run out of lines. 

First thing you and Satan do is take a large piece for Beel so he can stop drooling all over the cake. The second piece is given to you. The cake is made of vanilla and has chocolate filling, also very tasty. 

Once everyone has finished eating, the hyperactive demons are already asking you what you would like to do now. That’s a great mistake, because you have many ideas for tonight.

“Actually, there’s something I want,” you say, making all the demons look at you with excited expressions. “Since I suffered so much this year and I was almost killed several times thanks to all of you,” slowly, you see their smiles dropping, “I want to give a small punishment to each one of you as revenge.” You end it with an evil smile.

“Oh, a punishment, you say? The crack of a whip sure does excite me,” Asmo comments, giggling excitedly and earning a concerned look from you. 

“So, if it’s Tsuki whipping your ass, you would like it?” Mammon questions, but Asmo just giggles again and winks. 

“Tempting, but I have other plans in mind.” You feel the need to clearly refuse his wish. “Levi and Lucifer won’t receive any now because they already did theirs.” Levi tilts his head, looking at you with a puzzled expression. “Levi went shopping with me and Lucifer is wearing casual clothes,” you explain. The demons let out an ‘ooh’ sound of understanding.

“I think we should agree, we owe Tsuki this,” Beel says. He looks around at his brothers and they all nod their heads in agreement. Wonderful, no resistance.

“Thanks, Beel! Anyway, I bet Mammon wants to be the first now!” You see Mammon gulping in anticipation. “My punishment for Mammon is pretty simple: pay off your debts.”

“ _ Haaaa?!” _ Mammon shakes his hand and makes an X over his chest. “No, can’t do! Do you know the amount of debts I have accumulated over the centuries?”

‘Centuries.’ You roll your eyes, that was to be expected really. But you come prepared.

“Then, use your money to buy something for your brothers. To compensate for everything you stole from them to sell in the past.”

“I have no money,” he answers immediately, crossing his arms in a smug way.

“Oh, nonono.” Levi raises his hand, squinting his eyes at Mammon. “I  _ know  _ that you have been working to buy Tsuki a present and that mug was definitely  _ not  _ your whole paycheck!” Listening to that, you squint your eyes at Mammon as well. He gulps, frantically looking around.

“I have been wanting to buy some new weights for my workout sessions,” Beel comments, looking at Mammon seriously. He gulps again.

“One of the lamps on my side of the room broke,” Belphie says right after, also staring at Mammon, who is starting to sweat. 

“Hmm, if we are talking about things we need, I could use a new frying pan,” Satan joins, thinking out loud with a hand under his chin.

“Tsk, fine! Make a list then,” Mammon gives up, blushing hard and looking fixedly at his empty cake plate. “I’ll buy one fricking thing for everyone! But that isn’t because I feel bad about stealing or anything! It’s just for Tsuki’s punishment.”

Of course it is.... What a tsundere. 

“Are only things we need allowed?” Levi asks. You meet his eyes and nod. Being the big otaku he is, Levi will probably only ask for manga or anime merch. But if all of his brothers are only asking for things they need, Levi should be no exception. Besides, it sure would be nice to see Levi asking for something he  _ needs  _ for once. The avatar of envy sighs and crosses his arms. “I guess Mammon can buy Henry’s fish food for next month,” he reluctantly says.

“I’m making the list!” Asmo exclaims. He has summoned a pink notebook and a pen decorated with hearts. “For me, my favorite body lotion that just ran out. Let’s see, gym weights for Beel, a lamp for Belphie, new frying pan for Satan, fish food for Henry.” At that, Levi interrupts to explain in minor details the specific brand and type of food he buys for Henry. Asmo looks at him a bit annoyed, but he writes down the specifics too. “Anything for Lucifer?”

The eldest brother looks pensive for a moment. Mammon observes his older brother carefully. At some point, Lucifer’s eyes meet his and he smiles. Mammon starts losing his shit and babbling about his brother having mercy on him. Lucifer only chuckles, amused.

“I could use some new office supplies. A few pens and a notebook are enough for me.”

Mammon calms down, looking at Lucifer incredulously. Asmo just sighs and mutters an annoyed “boring” under his breath. The avatar of lust hands Mammon the list and he stores it in his wallet. Lucifer offers to go out shopping with him tomorrow. Mammon gets excited but in the same second Lucifer reminds his brother that he is the only one paying, so Mammon sighs, falling heavily into his chair. You chuckle at his defeated reaction; serves him right. Mammon has to stop stealing his brothers’ stuff and stop creating even more debts. 

“Well, moving on, Belphie!” you call his attention. The avatar of sloth lazily turns to look at you. “You are clearing the whole place after the party. Alone.” A spark of understanding flashes on his face. His eyes go wide in shock and his mouth hangs open. “And if you complain I’ll add another chore.”

“What the— You evil brat, listen here—”

“What was that? You want to clean up the whole house by yourself the next day too? Alright.”

Belphie gasps. Around the table, his older brothers are all covering their faces, trying to not laugh. The slothful demon is only dumbfounded for a second, before he frowns, showing you an even angrier expression.

“So, this is what you meant as revenge, hmm? Didn’t know you were such a grudgeful person, Tsuki,” he spits like venom.

“Hmm.” You have to press your lips together to not smile at his reaction. Was that supposed to hurt you? Pff. He needs to try harder. “I see, you want to give Lucifer a massage too.” This time Belphie snorts. Lucifer lets out a “hm?” sound and Levi and Mammon are the first to lose it and break down laughing. “I don’t like the expression you are making, Belphie. Satan’s room is a bit—”

“OH,  _ of course I am going to do all the cleaning by myself today and tomorrow! _ ” the avatar of sloth raises his voice to speak over you. Stopping, you look at him annoyed and Belphie smiles from one ear to the other. “And give Lucifer a relaxing massage,” you keep eye contact with him. Belphie continues to smile even though you are wishing you could kill him with only your glare.

“Wait, what just happened?” Mammon looks around confused.

“Are you really a pea brain, Mammon?” Asmo shakes his head. “Tsuki said ‘if you keep complaining I’ll add another chore.’ So, the only way to make Tsuki stop giving chores was for Belphie to be alright with the ones he currently has.” Mammon nods, understanding what Asmo said. “I think they were going to make Belphie clean up the mess that Satan calls a room too.” 

In the distance Satan says a loud “Hey!” You nod at Asmo’s claims. 

“I don’t like your smile, Belphie, drop it before I tell you to go clean Satan’s and Mammon’s room,” you say one last thread. Belphie lets his smile drop and assumes a neutral expression, nodding. On his side, Beel weakly waves a hand at you. His right cheek and chin are all dirty from the cake’s purple cream. 

“Can I help Belphie?”

“ **NO** !” you yell, startling Beel. Shaking your head, you make a stern expression. “Your punishment is to  _ not  _ help Belphie! If you try to help him clear a cup, I’ll make your twin work another whole day, Beel!”

The avatar of gluttony lowers his face in a depressed way. Ouch, seeing Beel so sad makes your heart ache. Quickly, Belphie reaches for Beel’s arm and holds it. He tells his twin that it’s alright and—in a deathly serious tone—to not help him. Ah, the infuriating demon has turned his back to you on purpose, he must be grimacing at Beel. You are so close to adding another day of work. Honestly, that’s  _ nothing  _ compared to what he deserves.

Sighing, you try to let out anger, today’s supposed to be a happy day. Grabbing some more juice, you notice Asmo and Satan are exchanging some uneasy looks. The avatar of lust whispers something into Satan’s ear, while maintaining eye contact with you. Oh, he’s worried. He should be.

“Do you want to be next, Asmo?” you smile evilly again. Asmo jumps in his seat and covers his mouth. “Oh, you’ll need that mouth of yours! That mouth that only knows how to praise itself.” You see him getting paler amidst your sinister words. “I want you to say one nice thing about each one of your brothers.”

“Eh?! Even Mammon?!” he complains, making Mammon yell a loud “Oi!” 

“To every complaint, I’ll add another compliment.”

He gapes, grabbing at his vests in a scandalized way. Belphie laughs now, dropping his back into Beel’s body.

“Looks like I didn’t get the shorter end of the stick,” he laughs with Levi, who is already giggling too.

“I agree,” Mammon laughs. “Hearing Asmo praising others? Tsuki is amazing! Do you want more juice? Cake? Mammon-sama will get more for you!” This makes you laugh as well. A simple glass of water is all you accept. 

Lucifer and Beel are looking amusedly and curiously at Asmo, who looks like he’s having a mental breakdown, both elbows over the table supporting his head. The only one who is not having a good time is Satan, who is looking paler than normal while watching Asmo suffer in silence. “I’m worried,” you hear him say under his breath.

Drinking your water, you watch Asmo struggling to start speaking. He has more self-control, since he has not complained like Belphie. After a while Asmo looks at his fingers, as if he’s making mental counts. Must be struggling to find something to compliment Mammon or Levi. When you see the avatars of envy and sloth excitedly looking at you, Asmo’s break ends.

“So, did the cat eat your tongue?” Asmo jerks again, snapping his gaze back at you. Satan also seems called out by the word ‘cat’. “You have sixty seconds to start talking or else I’ll be adding more compliments, starting with Mammon.”

A desperate yell escapes Asmo’s lips. He frantically looks around the table for a few seconds.

“I-I will start with Lucifer!” he announces, staring at the prideful demon. A safe start, you think. “Uh… Our older brother is really reliable. Doesn’t matter if he’s tired or working, every time we reach out to Lucifer, he tries to help us without expecting anything in return.” He gets more and more red with every new word.

Lucifer is taken aback for a moment, but he smiles at his brother.

“Thank you, Asmodeus.”

You show Asmo a thumbs up and wait for him to continue. The avatar of lust sighs, he seems to be calming down now. He passes his eyes around the table again; he stops at the twins.

“Beel is really good at reading others. He seems to always know when someone is not feeling so well and he offers help. I think that’s something that makes him really sweet, even more than his gentle giant appearance,” Asmo says calmly and seriously. Beel laughs and smiles at the compliment. “And Belphie, our cute younger brother is very smart. I never see him studying but he always manages to get good grades. The world is unfair.” Belphie blushes at his words. He looks away from Asmo’s eyes, embarrassed. “Satan.” The avatar of wrath looks at Asmo, who is pouting now. “You are very handsome but your fashion style is a disaster!” Asmo cries out, blushing again. “It’s also unfair how even with those ugly clothes you wear, you still look so beautiful!” Satan blinks, dumbfounded, being called handsome by Asmo must be new.

“I’ll let the last one pass just because I agree,” you point out. “I don’t know if I would even call it a ‘fashion style.’”

“I know right!” Asmo yells, agreeing. 

Satan only laughs, well humored, and thanks Asmo. Now Levi and Mammon are sitting on the edge of their seats, looking at Asmo excitedly.

“Urg. Levi then…” The avatar of lust looks down. He takes a deep breath. “I am really jealous of your sewing technique!” he bursts off all at once. All the heads turn at Asmo, confused. Levi points at himself.

“Jealous? Of me?” Asmo lets out an uncontrolled grunt, now as red as a tomato.

“You can sew so well! I dare say you’re better than me! Me! I tried sewing once but I was never happy with what I did… And you!” he points at Levi, panting, “you waste your ability by making cosplays!”

“Language.” Though you are very surprised, somehow you still remember to remind him of only saying good things. 

“Right… I mean, instead of broadening your horizons you keep on only sewing to make cosplays.” He looks down, sighing again. “Of course, I prefer to only make outfits but I would also like to be able to make clothes.”

Everyone at the table is pretty shocked at this outburst. A full minute of silence follows, with only Asmo’s pants as a background noise.

“I, uh, never knew you felt this way, Asmo.” Levi scratches his head. He looks at you, uncertain. “Did you hear it too, Tsuki?” You nod. “Well, I… Thanks, I guess? If you think I have talent in something, then I must have!” Levi finally smiles, happily. The avatar of lust murmurs a small ‘you’re welcome.’ “Wow so, I am not a totally useless otaku! Did you think so too, Tsuki?”

“Of course, Levi.”

The avatar of envy keeps on smiling brightly, and you feel happy for him too. Those brothers of his never compliment Levi! No wonder he always locks himself in his room! 

The last one is Mammon and these little ideas of yours have already paid off so well. At first you were just being petty but now you’re glad of trying it out. You never expected Asmo to say more than a word or two, but seeing him explain why he’s giving the compliments he picked only makes it more special. His reasoning is genuine and his brothers know it. 

The avatar of lust is hesitating now, looking at his foot. He starts murmuring in an almost inaudible tone. Mammon calls his attention because he can’t hear him properly. 

“I said! I think Mammon is very loyal, our most loyal brother.” And a choir of confused “Loyal?” is heard. Asmo is hesitating again. But he sighs and decides to raise his head to end his suffering. “Mammon is a greedy scumbag in terms of money or valuable stuff. But when it’s about his family he always put us first. If anyone goes to him for help, Mammon always helps and tries his best to do what we want or need. How he’s always doing things for his family is what makes him so loyal.”

“Wow, I never knew Asmo was capable of saying so many nice things about others before,” Levi comments. 

“I knew,” you and Belphie say at the same time. You look at him with more shock than what you felt with Asmo’s nice words.

“We used to be close back at the Celestial Realm. He was a really nice angel,” the youngest smiles fondly. “Asmo didn’t have his narcissistic personality back then.”

“That’s right,” Lucifer manages to comment before Asmo starts yelling, telling everyone to stop talking about the past.

“I am done now, right, Tsuki?!” he stomps the ground, frustrated. You barely breathe a ‘yes’ and he’s already sinking back into his chair, groaning loudly into his hands. Satan taps his shoulder, telling him it was great and not that hard.

“You really think that, Asmo?” Mammon asks, his voice more serious now. Asmo raises his head a little and lowers his hand so only his eyes are visible. 

“Of course, I do. Do you think I would lie?” he pouts. His offended expression is funny, his frown makes it seem like he’s very angry when he’s actually just a bit annoyed. Mammon smiles.

“Thank you!”

Asmo only grunts. His eyes meet on a forgotten piece of cake on the table and he eats it in one go. You blink at the rare display. So even the avatar of lust eats to swallow his anxieties. Now the only one missing is Satan. This will either go very wrong or very well. You clean your throat. A bit of anxiety is starting to boil in your stomach, making you want to rush away from here. 

“Satan,” you call him, voice almost breaking for the sheer nervousness that is growling inside of your body. The avatar of wrath looks at you, expression neutral. “Satan… I want you to tell us what you really think of Lucifer.”

As expected, all the brothers act scandalized. 

“Oi, what are you thinking, Tsuki?” Lucifer pulls your forearm, forcing you to look at him. And, wow, he already looks so pissed off. Why is he even angry at it?

“Trust me,” you say with the last bit of strength you have. It is rapidly evaporating with the anxiety of Satan overreacting and Lucifer looking angry so close to you. Your breath already feels accelerated. Well, if things start falling apart you can just use the pact to force Satan to speak. You really don’t want to, but it’s an option you cannot ignore.

Satan makes a loud ‘Tck!’ sound. He crosses his arms, looking annoyed, with his nose all wrinkled just like when his pranks against Lucifer doesn’t work. All of a sudden, he wears a fake and forced smile.

“Tsuki seems to be under the impression that I prank you and cause problems to you, Lucifer, specifically, because I want to get your attention,” Satan starts. _ ‘Seems to be, my ass!’ _ you think angrily, one step away from forcing the words out of him. But before you can argue, Satan sighs and drops his shoulders, assuming a more serious expression. “They are right.”

All his brothers and you gasp. Lucifer releases his hold on your forearm. The avatar of wrath is looking at the table with the same hesitation that Asmo showed not too long ago. The reluctance to admit their real feelings. 

“The truth is, I always hated how you ignored me. Your composed and perfect ensemble really infuriates me. Always acting like a distant parent, only demonstrating your disappointment with my antics. I wanted to make you notice me so much I started to try to surpass you so you would be forced to notice me. I wanted to make you recognize you are not perfect at everything, and make you say something…” he looks down, with a pained expression. After trailing off, he doesn't keep on speaking.

Lucifer is overwhelmed with shock beside you, the hand on his chest and wide eyes make it very clear. Not that everyone else isn’t shocked too. Even you are surprised with the amount of detail Satan said on his free will.

“I see…” Lucifer speaks after a long time. “I’m so sorry, Satan, I had no idea how you really feel…”

They are not looking at each other and the rest of the demons are too dumbfounded to say anything. Well, the mood really got heavy now, didn’t it? Wouldn’t be nice if this very important conversation just fell apart. Time to spice things up again, like the evil little human you are.

“Quick, Satan,  _ say I love you, Lucifer!” _

“I love you, Lucifer!” Satan cheerfully announces before grimacing and covering his face with his hands, blushing hard. You, Mammon, Levi and Belphie start laughing. “I’ll never speak to you ever again, Tsuki!”

“I love you too, Satan!” this time you cheerfully say. Lucifer also has a bit of color in his cheeks. 

“Is this really what you wanted to do on your birthday?” Lucifer asks. He has a funny expression, like he’s tired, but maybe he’s still just really shocked.

“Well, I’m not going to stay here forever.” A loud moment of silence covers the entire room, making you really uncomfortable. That’s inevitable and the demons should know it. “So, I want to make sure the family doesn’t fall apart after I leave. Legit all you guys have to do is talk to each other about your traumas and problems, that’s all. Just, stop being so stubborn all the time. All of you. Isn’t everyone happy seeing how much Asmo or Mammon cares about everyone else? This is what is missing here, trust each other to be vulnerable and have serious conversations about what bothers you. You guys don’t really need me here to be a peacemaker, just be less stubborn in general. That’s all.”

You point to every single demon in the table. They remain silent for a while longer. You’re not sure if that’s because they don’t want you to leave or because of your sudden lecture. They listen to you, right? So, they should listen now and start correcting this unhealthy behavior all of them have to a degree.

“You can count on us, Tsuki,” Mammon speaks suddenly, “The Great Mammon will be here to make sure this family doesn’t tear itself apart when you have to return to the human world,” he smiles. 

“You will come back to visit, won’t you?” Asmo asks, waving to catch your attention. “We’ll be waiting.”

“Of course.” The avatar of lust opens a big smile.

Slowly, the demons start to get over the depressing atmosphere. Levi and Beel leave to get more food. Belphie is already showing concern about the cleaning, telling his brothers to not dirty anything else. Lucifer taps you on the back. You turn to look at him, but the avatar of pride is moving forward to whisper in your ear. 

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” You can’t help but smile.

The boys return with more food and cake so you decide to indulge in sweets a little more. Lucifer leaves his seat to whisper something to Satan. You watch the pair for a while. They actually engage in a serious conversation. Good for them, your work here is done. Even though you say it all the time, this time, for sure, it’s the last time you help this dysfunctional family of demons. ‘Last. Time.’ 

Hours later, you are sitting with Mammon and Levi while watching him do several bank transactions on his phone, paying off some of his debts like you told him to. He needed ‘witness,’ like Levi had said. You pat his head, congratulating him for his good work. The greed demon blushes but doesn’t complain, for once. Belphie is already organizing the place and taking out the trash. You almost want to make him use a maid or butler outfit, but seeing him work hard while looking so pissed off is enough. You laugh while taking photos to savor this moment. Levi, your biggest partner, laughs alongside you. The otaku got the best outcome of the night.

Satan returns first, stopping right in front of you. He had talked with Lucifer for a long time. Since there was no shouting or fighting involved, you are pretty certain they were able to have a civil conversation for once. Lucifer has now called Mammon and is chatting with him from a distance.

“Tsuki—”

“I thought you said you were never going to speak to me again?” Levi snorts beside you. “Your guts have no limit, Tsuki,” the avatar of envy says while chuckling. 

“I was angry when I said that,” he laughs, though it feels forced. “I came to apologize. For that fight.” You nod, staying serious now. Satan continues after a moment. “I thought you were being unreasonable, but you’re never like that. Once I calmed down and reflected carefully about what you said I reached the conclusion that you were right all along. I wasn’t angry because I was jealous of you, I was angry because I knew you managed to catch Lucifer’s attention in a way I never did.” Then he sighs. “Sorry. And thank you for never backing up and always speaking your mind. Sometimes it’s important to hear even the things we don’t want to grow as a better person.”

You remain silent for one more moment, looking into his pretty green eyes. It’s good Satan was able to reach this conclusion by himself. That explains why he isn’t being a prick today and not ignoring you; he had already made his mind. Luckily, Levi on your side has kept himself quiet too. 

“And what do you think of Lucifer now, Satan?”

“Me and Lucifer spoke…I think everything will be alright now.” He shows you a confident smile. “How do you even figure out this sort of thing? You seem to always know what’s going on and how to fix stuff.”

You shrug.

“I may be small but I am very powerful.” He laughs and decides to agree with your words. You, Levi and Satan chat for a while. The avatar of wrath asks about how your day went while he and his brothers were working hard on the party. He gets surprised knowing how well Levi behaved in the “outside world,” as the envy demon has said. 

A few minutes later, Lucifer approaches. Seeing his older brother, the other two demons suddenly go silent. Staring at your boyfriend curiously, you see he’s still in a good mood. The avatar of pride shows his hand to you before even saying anything. 

“Care to have a dance?”

“There’s no music?” you say, confused. 

As if in cue, Beel puts a gramophone in the middle of the dinner room and sets a record to play. A soft piano melody starts playing. Oh well, who are you to decline? Smiling, you take Lucifer’s hand.

Lucifer guides you (thank goddess), and you two share a slow dance in the middle of the dining room. This room always felt unnecessarily big. While twirling around, you get a few glimpses of the brothers. Mammon has joined Levi and both are pouting at the table. Satan is now talking with Asmo…or Asmo is bothering Satan with something, because the wrath demon looks pretty bored while his brother is talking. Beel has a piece of food in his mouth again. He’s looking at you two while Belphie cleans the table close to his twin. All is good. The day was surprisingly fun and full of surprises, good surprises for a change. The best birthday in a long time. It can’t get any better.

“Tsuki,” your boyfriend calls once the second music ends. “I have another present for you.”

“You do? Where is it?”

“I’ll give it to you in your room.”

He has a rather large smirk… Why only in your room? Your face is already blushing, thinking about a lot of inappropriate things. You fan yourself, pretending to be feeling hot thanks to the dance.

You manage to dance for a while longer with Lucifer before telling your goodnights to the demon brothers. 

“Today was really fun!” you smile brightly at them. “Thank you very much!” You half bow to show your gratitude. The demon brothers smile and tell you they are happy for making you happy. 

“Despite all of your antics, we enjoyed the day too,” Satan says. This smile of his doesn’t feel fake to you. 

“Noted. Belphie, don’t forget I want to see this place  _ shining  _ tomorrow.” You show the avatar of sloth a big grin. He only clicks his tongue angrily at you. “Night, guys!” 

After bidding them farewell, Lucifer follows you to your room. Once the door closes, you’re panicking again. What is the avatar of pride planning?! He doesn’t even give you time to calm down because he goes to his knees in front of you the minute the door closes. You feel yourself freeze upon the situation.  _ ‘Why is he kneeling? Is he going to ask to marry me? NO! I AM TOO YOUNG TO GET MARRIED! Besides, we only have been dating for less than a month! It can’t be it! Why the hurry? We still have a few months together… He doesn’t want me to go away, like never?! So, he wants to marry me?! Isn’t that being TOO possessive?!’ _

“Tsuki?”

“YES?!”

You finally look back at him after panicking. Looks like you disconnected from reality for a while, so embarrassing. You are trembling and sweating all over. Lucifer has a worried expression.

“Have you listened to a word of what I said?”

“You were talking?!”

“I don’t like being ignored, human,” he scolds you, shaking his head with a frown.

“S-Sorry! I was panicking a little…” Looking away in shame, your eyes meet the nightstand. “Why a-are you kneeling?”

Lucifer sighs. He takes your right hand and you jump.

“YOU ARE REALLY GOING TO ASK FOR MY HAND IN MARRIAGE?!”

“ _ What?  _ Why would you even think—” his dumbstruck expression lasts two seconds before getting serious. “ **No** .”

“Oh…” you relax all at once. Lucifer mutters something under his breath about ‘complicated human’, but you are too flustered to pay enough attention to it. Your eyes travel the whole room, anxious, never knowing where to focus. 

“I want, however, to ask something of you. A pact.”

“A pact,” you repeat, trying to ratiocinate again. No marriage, ok. He wants a pact. Ok. Pact with the avatar of pride… “A pact?” Now you are forced to look back at the demon because you can’t compute those words properly. 

“Yes.” He kisses your hand. Although the action is gentle, his eyes are a bit  _ too _ serious; he’s running out of patience. Better snap out of this flustered state! “I was planning to offer it before you have to go back to the human world, afraid of you running into any problems while away from us. But, to be honest, you are  _ always  _ running into problems here as well, and today seems like a good day to make it.”

It still feels like your brain is taking too long to process what Lucifer is saying. The demon wants to make a pact with you, to protect you. Of course, can’t deny you’re a problem magnet. Well, a pact  _ is _ better than marriage for sure.

“Really? I thought you never made pacts with humans…”

“I don’t, but I’m opening an exception.” Lucifer smiles, his lips still brushing your hand. “So, do you want to? Last time I asked, you decided to act like a brat and told me you don’t need it.”  _ ‘Aaah, he never forgets a thing!’ _

“Of course I want a pact with you, Lucifer!”

The demon smirks before kissing the back of your right hand again. A feeling of pure happiness warms your heart. You did want a pact with Lucifer but never thought he would actually agree to it. Having Lucifer himself  _ ask _ you for a pact makes it so much more special. The feeling of happiness is shorter lived than expected. A sharp pain travels your whole body coming from your hand, making you scream. Quickly you take your hand back and hold it close to your body before stumbling and collapsing on your bed. The pain is so intense it blinds you. It feels like someone poured acid on your right hand and it is slowly melting.

“What’s wrong?” you hear Lucifer asking, a hint of panic in his voice. He rushes to your side.

All of a sudden the pain seems to ease. Slowly you bring your hand back to take a look at it. Your vision is a bit blurry but, from what you can tell, the skin and everything else look fine. Now there’s a big blue mark that belongs to the avatar of pride, all over the back of your hand. You pant as the pain keeps decreasing.

“Are you ok, Tsuki?”

“I guess… Could have asked where I wanted the mark like everyone else...”

“But I wanted it here.” Lucifer shows you a weak smile, despite his worried looks. “Did it hurt when you got the other pacts too?”

“Yes, it did.” With a bit of help from Lucifer you sit on the bed, still staring over your new pact mark. Is it just you or does it kind of look like a peacock silhouette? “But never like that, I felt like someone was crushing my hand. Is the pain proportional to the power of the demon?”

“I don’t know…” Lucifer looks at the ground, unsure. “Some humans only feel as much as a sting on the skin.”

“ _ Wait _ , are you telling me Solomon isn’t a  _ huge _ masochist then?! That humans experience pact making differently and I’m just  _ unlucky _ to make it hurt like something is burning me with hot iron?!”

“It looks like it, Tsuki…” You groan. This bad luck has no limits!

Flopping back into the bed, you let out a loud sigh. After a minute, Lucifer sits beside you. Rolling in bed, you let your head rest on his lap. The demon passes a hand through your hair, his soft touch calming you down. Closing your eyes, you focus on this moment.

“If you ever have trouble in the human world don’t hesitate to summon me.”

“Alright,” you agree, though you hope it will never be necessary to summon Lucifer. In what kind of trouble would you even be to summon one of the strongest demons in the whole Devildom? You would prefer to summon literally anyone else, otherwise you feel like you’d be wasting Lucifer’s powers. “Thank you, I still can’t believe it. Never thought you would make a pact with me. Or any human, really.” Solomon will be  _ so  _ jealous of you tomorrow! 

Lucifer hums and remains quiet for a minute.

“And I still can’t believe you really thought I was going to ask to  _ marry _ you.”

_ Urg _ , you feel like he punched you in the face. Actually, a punch would have hurt less. That was beyond embarrassing.

“ _ Please _ , forget it…” You’re afraid he’ll tease you or tell you to beg him, but Lucifer only chuckles.

“I’ll pretend it never happened only because it’s your birthday.”

“Thank you!”

“Don’t you want to do anything else, since I’m here.” You open your eyes to look at the demon, he has that trademark smirk. What’s he planning? “I am willing to do anything you want today. Or at least for the next…” he stops to look at his clock, “two hours, forty-seven minutes and twenty-three seconds.”

“Anything, hmm?”

“Including your dark secrets.” That smirk of his gets bigger. This isn’t looking good… He’s onto something.

“What…are you implying, Lucifer?” you ask carefully. “I have no dark secrets.”

“Oh? Are you sure? Do you have no kinks?” _Sweat._ _‘No way.’_ Remaining quiet, you only stare at Lucifer. Does he _know_ or he is trying to get you to talk? Remembering suddenly how you do end up talking way too much when you’re drunk, it’s possible… No. Okay, unlikely, but possible. Still, you're not getting baited into admitting any of it.

“Not. At. All!”

“Hmph. You're no fun.” He looks to the side, uninterested, and you chuckle. Sitting on the bed, you cling to Lucifer, hugging him affectionately. Since he’s wearing less clothes today, you can feel the muscles under his clothes better. 

“I’ll be happy just having you sleep here today.” And you kiss his cheek. 

“Whatever you want, beauty.” Then he holds you by the waist and kisses you on the lips. 

You two spend the whole night together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for everyone that read until here! There's a bonus part on the next chapter~  
> I love comments.


	20. Favorite Record

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Favorite Record by Fall Out Boys  
> “You were the song stuck in my head. Every song I’ve ever loved. Played again and again and again. And you can get what you want but it’s never enough. And I’ll spin for you like your favorite records used to.”

**BONUS Chapter 15.5 – Favorite record**

He wakes up in a different place today. Soft lights are shining on top of a tree—Tsuki’s room, he recognizes immediately. At first he hadn't planned to sleep here, it just happened. As usual, the human is sleeping peacefully by his side. He can’t stop the urge to brush their wild hair with a hand. Feels very soft.

They are sleeping over his right arm and Lucifer can admire his own pact mark on their hand. It pleases him to see his mark on a place so visible, but it irritated the human yesterday. Hopefully they will get it over it without any more complaints, as there’s nothing he can do about it now.

Lying in bed, Lucifer watches over Tsuki, remembering some moments they spent together. The exchange program won’t end for a few more months, so why does he feel so melancholy? He can feel the dread of having to be separated from the human. He just  _ had _ to make the pact yesterday, he can’t allow them to be too far away from his vigilant eye. If they have any problem again Lucifer wants to be summoned to help them. He can protect Tsuki. He wants to. He isn’t letting anyone else he loves die again. And since this human is stupidly prideful, stubborn and reckless, they prefer to die fighting alone than ask for help. This chain of thoughts always stresses out Lucifer, leaving him more worried than normal. He sighs, trying to think about something else. 

Too tired and lazy, Lucifer simply stays on the bed quietly for a while longer. Because Tsuki’s bed is a lot smaller than his, they have to stay close like this or someone is going to end on the ground. Well,  _ he  _ is going to end on the ground. But it’s relaxing to stay close to the human like this. Lucifer often finds their presence calming…when they are not fighting.

Tsuki makes an abrupt move that startles the demon, but they are only waking up. They open an eye first and focus on Lucifer. After a yawn, they wish him a good morning before closing their eyes again.

“Good morning, Tsuki.”

Now that the human is awake Lucifer can allow himself to move a bit in the bed, laying on his back instead of sideways. Tsuki stretches and lies on their back too, accidentally hitting Lucifer in the face with their arm. The human hurriedly apologises and moves their arm away. 

Slowly, they proceed to wake up. Passing a hand over their face and hair, Tsuki yawns again and pauses. They seem to get curious at something. Lucifer notices Tsuki is now staring at the new pact mark on their hand. The human stays immobile for a minute. Then, all of a sudden, Tsuki starts moving and crawling into Lucifer’s personal space. He grunts, a bit bothered, but Tsuki returns soon to their place besides the demon with their D.D.D. in their hands, muttering a not-so-bothered ‘sorry’ in the process. As they start to type something a malicious grin forms on the human’s face.

“Who are you texting?” he asks curiously. It is still early in the morning and they both just woke.

“Shady fucker,” they reply. Lucifer has no idea of who that is so he only hums, loudly, to get their attention. “Mon Solo. Mister Solo Man. I have more nicknames, including ‘bastard sorcerer’. He doesn’t know it, however.”

This is a bit unexpected, Lucifer thought they had a good relationship, even though Lucifer wouldn’t like them being too friendly with each other. But having Tsuki call the sorcerer all those names means they aren’t fond of Solomon even if they seem to be good friends.

“Why are you texting Solomon so early…” But as he asks, Tsuki takes a photo of his pact mark, still grinning. “Are you going to brag?”

Tsuki laughs.

“Check this out, Luci: ‘Guess what, BITCHES! Who is the motherfocking human that sniped a pact with The Lucifer? ME. I DID IT, LOSERS! Muhahahahaha. Suck it!’” And they end laughing even more.

“D…Did you actually type that?” They have  _ such _ a foul mouth. “Who even taught you how to swear? Are your parents like that too?”

“Hell no, they can suck a dick and choke,” they spit, acting indignant with the mention of their own parents. The  _ infamous _ parents. Lucifer should never meet them, otherwise it may turn really unpleasant. For them, of course. “They are  _ so _ ‘proper’ I can’t say a single ‘fuck’ inside my own house,” they complain, still with an annoyed expression, but it quickly changes to their previous grin. So, is this why they are always swearing? Because no one bats an eye here? “And sent!” To show they are talking seriously, Tsuki shows their D.D.D. screen to Lucifer. Yes, they typed exactly what they said to him. Every word. Only when he sees “Barbatos is typing” does Lucifer realise Tsuki sent it to a group chat with Solomon, Mephistopheles, Barbatos and Lord Diavolo.

“What the…?!” He hears another evil laugh from the human.

“What? I need to show off and it’s quicker to just tell it to everyone at once. So I created a whole group chat just for it!” They smile at Lucifer’s confusion. “I called it ‘The Powerful Moon’.” Then the human rolls playfully in bed, still giggling. The demon sighs. They know what they are doing, right? Not that any of the four would be annoyed at it. Well, maybe Solomon will, he expressed the wish to make a pact with Lucifer before. Way too many times for Lucifer to like. Barbatos and Lord Diavolo will probably take it well, and since they are so friendly with Mephistopheles, that demon will be overjoyed to know. 

Even so, this human, this  _ small brat _ , had the audacity of calling Lord Diavolo, from all demons, both ‘bitch’ and ‘loser’. The nerve of the human. Given the chance, Lucifer knows they would call him such words in public as well. He wonders if Tsuki would do the same thing if Lord Diavolo were more of a serious and strict demon. 

Tsuki doesn’t even pay attention to the replies of his bragging, they only take a look and laugh harder. Then leave the D.D.D. over the bed. The human turns around and cuddles back to Lucifer, hugging his torso, still grinning. “I’m still mad~”

“You didn’t look that mad yesterday. And you certainly don’t look mad now.”

“I am mad. I’m  _ so  _ mad at you.” They rub their face against his chest skin. “How fucking  _ dare _ you not ask me before placing the mark on my fucking hand?” They bite his skin now, it tickles. Lucifer chuckles at this childish attack.

“I’m sorry.” They go still all at once. “Is that what you wanted to hear? Sorry. I’ll be more mindful next time.” Tsuki raises their face to stare at Lucifer. Their confused expression is cute, it’s soft, unlike their daily annoyed expression, always plagued with a frown or a pout. He pats their head, feeling the messy hair between his fingers. He never gets tired of his cute (and feral) human. “I love you, beauty.” Tsuki blushes under his gaze.

“I just woke up, I don’t look ‘beautiful’,” they murmur, hiding their face on his chest again. But instead of biting, Tsuki hugs him tighter. “…Love you, too.”

After a few kisses, they finally get up for the day. No matter how tempting it is to just spend a whole day lying in bed with Tsuki, they both have work to do today. And a massage from Belphie is on the way too. Tsuki must be cherished for everything they did for his family so far. They deserve the world—no, better yet—they deserve the whole three realms. Lucifer would give them it all if he could.

**-end of part 2-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for everyone who read all of this mess LMAO Thanks for every kudo and comment, it brights my day ;3  
> Tell me your thoughts now that it's over!!!!   
> There will probably be a few one shots and a epilogue SOON!! Until part 3. Yeah, there will be....another part..... set on year 2...... Eventually. I'm not that far into writing it yet, so it may take a while.


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